Fixing the Broken
by louann97
Summary: After a suicide attempt gone wrong, Caroline discovers that fixing Klaus Mikaelson may be harder than she first expected... AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey!  
So I know the last thing I need to be doing is writing a new story considering I'm already behind on quite a few of my others, but this idea came to me and I just had to write it!  
Admittedly I have absolutely no idea where this is going I'm hoping it's just going to pretty much write itself…  
Just to say, I'm adjusting a few facts from TVD and they will probably become apparent in later chapters, No vampires in this story, all human…  
Review if you're interested!  
Thanks :D**

**Caroline's POV**

Ohmygod, once again I was late. It seemed that I, Caroline Forbes, could not just be on time for once. Then again, it wasn't technically my fault that my curlers were playing up this morning, or that I couldn't find the shirt I wanted; and it was _definitely_ not my fault that Tyler was being a total asshole again and I had to spend like an hour on the phone trying to sort things out with him.

Sometimes I wondered why I bothered with Tyler; we'd been together since High School and breaking up just seemed wrong. However, we still lived separately and I had no intention of inviting him to live with me in the near future. He never managed to achieve the sports career he'd always dreamed of and he'd never made the effort to find himself a new job, he lived with his mother and off her income. If we moved in together I knew it would be me supporting us and I was not ready to deal with that.

I looked down at my lap as I felt my phone buzzing, I saw that it read 'Elena calling'; I rolled my eyes before removing one hand from the wheel and picking it up. - Totally against the law I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Hey 'Lena, what's up?" I said cheerily.

"You know exactly what's up Care, there's only a certain amount of times I can tell our boss you're in the bathroom before she gets suspicious!" Elena exclaimed on the other end.

"Sorry, sorry... time just got away from me again, and Katherine totally has it in for me!" I replied indignantly; I'm not even lying though she hates me, it's shockingly obvious.

I put my foot down on the accelerator; I was still about fifteen minutes away from the office, and I needed to do some damage control. I pulled into the fast lane, and a smile spread along my face as I gazed at the milometer and discovered that I'd covered quite a few miles. Well, that was when the traffic came to an abrupt stop.

"UGH. You are kidding me!" I shouted, pounding my hands against the steering wheel; I could not afford to be fired.

Before me I saw people getting out of their cars and making rapid conversation with one another, and pointing and staring at something. – I couldn't tell what the reason for all this shock was, I got out from my car to investigate.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" I asked the guy in the car in front of me.

"Yeah, there's a guy on the bridge up ahead- they say he's going to jump." The man said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

I looked up at the bridge ahead, and sure enough I saw a figure dangerously close to the edge just staring straight ahead. I didn't want to just stand and stare like everyone else around here.

"See if anyone has called the police, and an ambulance. – I'm going to talk to him." I said to the guy in front, who looked vaguely offended that I expected him to help me.

"You're going to talk to that guy! He's crazy?!" The man shouted rudely.

"Just because someone doesn't want to live anymore does not make them crazy, you moron." I spat back at him before pacing meaningfully towards the bridge. Sadly I couldn't walk as fast as I wanted to seeing as I was in my work heels.

As I got closer and closer to the bridge the man became even more defined. He had dirty blonde hair, he was tall and from what I could see he had a pretty good physique. I wasn't sure what approach to take; I was a property designer, not a shrink…

I decided that direct was my only option.

"Hey, you do realize you're making me late for work don't you!" I shouted up at the man, unsure of how else to start making conversation.

"My apologies for that love." The man responded softly and sadly, he spoke so quietly I could barely even hear. However, I did see a small smirk cross his features.

"I might get fired you know!" I continued, suddenly feeling angry – why did he have to choose today of all days for this.

"Well sweetheart, if you hadn't noticed whether you get fired or not is really the last thing on my mind right now." He responded drily.

"You're an idiot; if you were going to kill yourself you would have done it by now." I accused him; I heard stories about people all the time that pulled stunts like this just for attention.

"You don't know anything about me! Don't try and understand me! I'm still up here because it's peaceful…"

"Peaceful? Sitting on the edge of a freeway bridge; sounds _really_ peaceful." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at this man's ideas – maybe that guy from earlier was right.

"How would you know? Come up here and I'll prove it to you." He said stubbornly.

"Nope, there is no way in hell I'm coming up there."

"Well then, I'll just have to sit here for a while longer and make you even later for work."

"Ugh." I knew he'd won the argument; I crossed to the other side of the freeway and walked up the junction exit that connected to the bridge. I pulled my heels off and paced barefoot, covering more ground.

"Ah, how nice to see you up close." The guy said sarcastically. I laughed at his halfhearted comment, but couldn't help but admire his appearance at such close proximity.

"Are you going to join me then?" He inquired from the other side of the barrier.

"Fine." I responded tight lipped, this guy was about to kill himself; I guess it was the least I could do. I placed one foot onto the beam and hoisted myself up; I was sitting on the barrier with my legs dangling dangerously over the road below.

"So what's your name?" I asked, after the silence became too much.

"Niklaus, but you can call me Klaus love." The man responded.

"Nice to meet you Klaus; it would have been much nicer under different circumstances. I'm Caroline." I said smiling, he nodded back, but I knew it would take more than one of my winning smiles to convince him not to jump.

"Lady, what are you doing?! Don't provoke that man, he'll jump or he might hurt you!" The man from earlier shouted up at me.

Klaus turned and rolled his eyes at me.

"What a bloody idiot…" he muttered out. I laughed lightly at the situation; Klaus clearly didn't understand what this looked like.

"Yes, I've already spoken to that man once today and he is a total ass; but you obviously don't understand what this looks like right. You're the man perched on the side of a freeway bridge preparing to jump. – now who's the idiot?" I responded sharply, knowing however that this method was not going to convince this man to change his mind.

"Whatever you say love…" He said shaking his head.

"So what I don't get is; you don't seem like the sort of guy without any other options left than to take his own life; why are you up here?" I inquired, deciding that it was time to probe him for answers.

"Nothing you need to worry about sweetheart, it's a long _long_ story and one I'd rather not go into." He replied guardedly, his face darkening.

"You could at least give me an overview; after all I did come all the way up here and sit with you." I continued stubbornly; I just figured the longer I kept this man talking and distracted then the police may arrive in time to prevent him from doing this.

"Fine."

"My whole family hates me, the girl I thought was the one cheated on me with the whole of the neighborhood, I have no home, no friends, no job, and my youngest brother died not too long ago." He blurted out, his expression becoming more pained with each word he spoke. It seemed my tactic was not working it seemed that I was pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

It really did seem that this man had nothing left to live for, and I could think of absolutely no response; how could you convince a man with absolutely nothing that there was still something worth living for.

"Oh." Was all I managed to say, shocked by his confession.

"See, I told you it was bad love." He muttered in a defeated tone.

"You know, we could always be friends if you wanted?" I inquired quietly, knowing that the incentive of my friendship would not convince this man not to do this.

"You don't know me; you wouldn't want to be my friend…" He said sadly.

I don't know what it was in his voice that told me he'd been betrayed so many times that he now had such a low opinion of himself; but this was what quite literally made me cry for him. I felt a small tear roll down my cheek, this man really was broken; damaged goods, and I, Caroline Forbes never learnt to walk away from things that couldn't be fixed.

I stretched my hand out towards him and placed it upon his, squeezing his hand gently before speaking.

"I'm sure you'd make a great friend." I said simply, not expecting his next outburst.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!" He roared, getting angry again. His face turned an un-natural shade of red and his eyes looked mean. He forcefully pushed my hand away from his, throwing me rapidly off balance. I felt my foot slip, and my weight move forward; I slipped from my current position and fell forwards, my hand letting go. I fell off the side of the bridge, and realized that it was me that was going to die because of this bridge and not him. The world seemed to be travelling in slow motion as I looked down and saw the ground that was awaiting me below. I was snapped from my thought however when I felt a strong hand grasp my arm; preventing me from falling any further.

I looked up to see Klaus lying on his stomach on the bridge, his upper body stuck through the bars, and his hand hanging on tightly to me.

"Ohmygod, don't let me fall; please, don't let me fall!" I screamed out, terrified.

"I've got you Caroline, don't you worry…" Klaus muttered, however I could tell from the very prominent veins in his forehead that it was taking all of his strength to keep holding on.

"THAT GUY PUSHED HER; THE MAN PUSHED HER FROM THE BRIDGE!" We both heard a voice exclaim from below, and obviously it was that idiot of a man from earlier.

"I'm slipping Klaus, I'm slipping!" I shouted, as I felt his grip on my arm become slippery and weak.

"No you're not love." He replied simply, his face becoming more determined as we heard sirens fast approaching.

"I don't want to die! " I exclaimed tearfully, I couldn't help but think if I had just been on time this morning then none of this would have ever happened.

"I told you sweetheart, you're going to be fine; and you are most definitely not going to die." Klaus said firmly.

"Then why aren't you pulling me up!" I screamed, terrified by the fact I had been hanging in the air for what felt like forever.

"Don't worry love, help is here." He replied, just as three police cars pulled up on the bridge. Men emerged from them and ran over to us.

"Let go, we've got her." One said sharply to Klaus, I could tell that his face was conflicted by this order; but he did as he was told.

I felt another set of hands grip me tightly and begin to slowly pull me up; he was joined by another man and eventually they pulled me to safety. I didn't realize how viciously I was shaking with fear – my stomach rolled and I promptly threw up over the side of the bridge.

"Come with me ma'am; we have an ambulance waiting to check you over." I nodded in response and followed, too shocked to say anything.

I sat on the side of the ambulance whilst a medic applied ice to my hand, and bandages to several cuts and scrapes.

"Hey, what are they doing to that man?" I asked the medic as I saw the police snap some cuffs on Klaus and place him into the back of the car.

"They're arresting him of course; for your attempted murder." He replied simply.

"WHAT!?" I exclaimed shocked at what had happened. It became obvious that the loud mouth idiot from the car in front of mine must have been running his mouth about what had happened.

"I need to stop them!" I said standing rapidly.

"No ma'am; that is the last thing you will be doing, you need to sit here and rest, whilst I finish checking you over. Then you need to go home and get some rest." He responded sharply, before pushing me firmly back down.

"Fine." I muttered out.

It seemed I wouldn't be getting into work today after all.

"Can you please pass me my phone; I need to make a call…"


	2. I'll show you

**Caroline's POV**

"You didn't have to get me out you know?" Klaus moaned as we exited the prison.

"There was no way I was going to let you rot in prison for some crime you didn't commit." I insisted.

"Well at least if I were in prison I would have had a place to live, regular meals and wouldn't have to deal with my family." Klaus shouted, Caroline flinched at the venom is his tone; he really did think he was better off locked away.

"You're wrong Klaus, there is always hope; there is always another option." I continued, my voice becoming louder and slightly angry; I thought I was doing him a favor.

"I'll do it again you know; try and kill myself. I have nothing, absolutely _nothing_ left to live for." He continued, before he turned away from me and started to walk in the opposite direction.

I didn't know what to do as I watched his retreating figure; I knew I couldn't just let him walk away, I would effectively be signing his death certificate - it seemed right now that there was no other person than me to look after this man, and I wasn't just going to let him try and end his life once again. I knew that now he was my responsibility. That was when the idea hit me.

"I'll show you!" I shouted at him and I began running towards him, he'd managed to walk a long way in such a small space of time.

"What?" He shouted back, stopping momentarily and turning around.

"I'll show you what there is to live for!" I exclaimed breathlessly as I finally reached him.

"It won't work..." Klaus said, but I saw a small smirk forming on his features.

"It will, please Klaus, just let me try - Come and live with me and I will prove to you that there are things worth living for!" I continued my voice loud with enthusiasm as I practically begged him.

"No Caroline; thanks for everything - but I don't think that's going to work out." He said shaking his head as he turned to walk away once more. I was stunned by his response; I knew the odds of him accepting my proposition were slim, but I couldn't help the disappointment that I felt. No, there was no way in hell I was going to accept any other answer than the one I wanted.

"YOU'RE A COWARD!" I screamed at him, and I'm pretty sure I stamped my foot too.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!" He retorted, repeating the very words he said to me on the bridge. However, he had at least turned around to face me once more.

"OH YEAH?!" I exclaimed sarcastically as we both began to pace back towards one another.

"Yes, you don't know anything so you should just mind your own business." He spat out at me when we finally reached one another again, standing in such close proximity; both of us fuming in anger.

"Yes Klaus; I know that you're a coward. You're too afraid to accept that there may be hope, you're too afraid to accept my offer because you're scared you'll discover that there is something out there, maybe people that care for you. You feel guilty because your brother has died and you get to live. Well there's no way I'm going to let you waste your life!" I shouted angrily, despite how close we were to one another.

"I'M NOT AFRAID; I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING, NOT EVEN DEATH." Klaus roared in response, his face turning a violent shade of red, but something in his eyes told me that I'd pretty much figured him out.

"No Klaus, you're not afraid of death; you're afraid of living..." I said quietly and sadly; this man really was broken, but I was determined that I could change that; fix him if it were even possible.

"Okay. I'll accept your offer, I'll come stay with you and you can do this good will mission; if only to make you feel better about yourself. But mark my words, I'm not doing this because of anything you say - I'm doing this to humor you. But you'll soon discover love that you'll just be delaying the inevitable, there's no fixing me." He said sadly, all the argument left his body and a defeated expression took over despite his best efforts not to let it show.

"Okay. My car's this way." I said with a smile, trying not to look too smug as I grabbed his arm lightly and slowly tugged him in the correct direction.

See; we'd made progress already, he was ready to accept my ideas, he was willing to try - he insisted that he wasn't but I could tell that he was. He had found some hope.

We got into the car and I started the engine, we slowly left the parking lot; and it was a while before Klaus spoke.

"We need to make a stop at the place I've been staying and collect some of my things." He said simply, I nodded in response.

"Lead the way." I responded.

Just as we pulled onto the freeway my phone began ringing; I remembered I left it in the passenger glove compartment.

"Can you grab that for me please?" I asked Klaus, briefly glancing in his direction.

"Sure." He pulled it out and looked at the display.

"It says work calling." He stated.

"Oh shit; I never rang in and told them about everything that happened. Oh man, now they think that I just haven't turned up for work, and I'm already on thin ice as it is. Oh no, I can't afford to lose my job, I need that job. Can you answer please?" I asked Klaus, knowing that it was likely to be a very long and stressful phone call and one that I definitely did not need whilst driving.

"Um okay, if you want love…" Klaus responded.

"Caroline's phone, how can I help you?" He said, answering the phone politely once he'd put it on loudspeaker.

"WELL IT WOULD BE A GOOD START IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHERE THE HELL SHE IS, AND WHY SHE DIDN'T COME INTO WORK TODAY!?" Katherine roared down the phone.

"Excuse me; you may be Caroline's boss and you may be angry with her, but I think you'll find that I am not Caroline and therefore I do not appreciate you speaking to me in that tone of voice." Klaus said in a cold tone which made a small laugh escape me; man, it felt good to hear someone stand up to that bitch Katherine.

"No you may not be Caroline but you still have her phone; I have had a very bad day and I just want to know where the hell my employee is!" Katherine exclaimed once more, but in a slightly quieter tone of voice.

"Sorry she meant to call earlier, but sadly she was very busy being heroic and trying to convince a man not to commit suicide, then she herself slipped and then she was busy trying not to die. Then she had to be patched up in an ambulance; then she had to come and get the man who tried to commit suicide out of prison after he was wrongly accused of attempted murder. So I think you'll find Caroline has had an extremely long day so you can't blame her that calling you slipped her mind; she'll be in nice and early tomorrow and I hope we can pretend that this whole day didn't happen. It was very nice to speak to you but now I'm hanging up, I hope that Caroline will hear no more about this matter." Klaus explained excellently and I was pretty sure that would have shut up Katherine.

"Um, well… err… yes; okay – Well, tell her she'd better be in tomorrow as there are a limit to the amount of chances she gets." Katherine said awkwardly before hanging up.

I exploded in laughter as Klaus put the phone down with a satisfied expression on his face.

"OHMYGOD. You showed her! You are the only person I know who's ever spoken to Katherine like that, ohmygod, you're actually my hero!" I gushed.

"You're welcome love." He replied with a pleased expression on his face.

"See, if you had jumped off that bridge earlier who would have got me out of trouble? See, you are needed after all!" I exclaimed cheekily, deciding that cramming in a life lesson at this point couldn't hurt.

"Yes, yes love; don't push your luck." He said with mock offence; however the smirk never left his features.

"Turn left here." Klaus said suddenly as we came to a junction; oh yes, I almost forgot he needed to make a stop.

I turned off and we came towards an old, unused industrial estate. I stared around in shock; and that was when I remembered Klaus mentioned that he didn't have a home. I figured therefore that he must be living in one of these buildings.

"Turn right." He said once more, and I turned into an old parking lot, beside a crumbling looking factory.

"Stop here; I'll be back soon." He said before rapidly getting out of the car and pacing over towards the building.

I understood he'd left pretty quick because he didn't want me to come with him; maybe he was ashamed of me seeing how he'd been living – that was a good sign, if it mattered to him what others thought then maybe there was hope for him to sort himself out.

I turned on the radio, leant back against the headrest and closed my eyes whilst I waited for Klaus to come back. He took a while, but eventually he arrived.

"Ohmygod what happened to your face?!" I exclaimed as he climbed back in the car.

"Nothing, I was gone for a matter of hours and someone claimed my spot in there already." Klaus said bitterly as blood ran down from his forehead to his chin and his eye had already turned purple and was rapidly swelling.

"You couldn't get any of your things back?" I asked quietly.

"No; usually I don't mind getting into a fight, but the odds were pretty bad." He said bitterly.

"Oh well, don't worry about it; we'll just have to get you some new things." I said optimistically as I placed a hand on top of his tightly fisted ones. He flinched at the contact and pulled his hands away.

"Klaus, please relax; I'm not going to do anything to you – I just want to help." I said soothingly, but he just turned away; it seemed that he had really been unsettled by what happened in there.

It seemed he was no longer in the mood for chatting so we drove in silence back to my apartment where I led him into the kitchen and told him to sit down on a stool.

"I'm going to patch that up for you; we don't want it to get infected." I said simply, but with authority; guessing it was better if I warned him before touching him this time. I grabbed the medi-kit from the cupboard and found a cloth and ran it under some warm water.

I placed one palm against the side of his face to hold it still whilst I gently wiped away the blood. I felt him tremble slightly at my touch. It took a while but eventually I got all the blood off. I turned away to rinse the cloth in the sink.

"No women's ever touched me since Tatia; I haven't exactly been a babe magnet living as a homeless man." He said quietly. It took me a while to place exactly who Tatia was, but I finally deduced that she must have been the bitch that broke his heart; well, I didn't know if she was a bitch, but I made the assumption that she was considering how messed up Klaus was now. I laughed slightly at his used of the term 'babe magnet'; I established it wasn't a phrase he used often, after-all if I was correct I was pretty sure he had a British accent.

"Speak for yourself; I am actually very much enjoy a homeless man every now and then…" I said with a laugh, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. It worked; Klaus began to laugh but flinched as he disturbed one of the cuts on his face.

I pulled some plasters and bandages from the kit and began to apply them to his face.

"You know, I never meant to be this much of a screw up; I always figured I'd be an art teacher or something, with a wife and millions of children." He said suddenly.

"Really, why do you say that? You're an artist then?" I asked, glad that he was beginning to open up to me.

"I had a large family; lots of siblings. Before everything happened I used to enjoy drawing and painting, it was a great stress buster, sadly since then art supplies have been rather limited, and the last thing on my mind." He replied drily.

I decided just to nod, I figured it was best not to ask any more questions; I didn't want to push him too far. I did however notice how he spoke about his family in the past tense; I guess it was because he was estranged from them now.

"So what do you do Caroline?" He asked curiously, as I put the kettle on to make us a drink.

"I'm a designer for a refurbishment company; the client tells me what they want and I draw up the plans and designs. Well, I don't know how much longer I'll be working for the company; after-all you have spoken to my boss today…" I said with a laugh.

"Interesting…" Klaus muttered, but spoke no more which puzzled me. I passed him over a mug and we sat in silence for a while.

"It's gotten so late, I'd better show you to your room." I said as I glanced at my watch; so many things had happened in the space of a day. I led Klaus through to the guest room.

"Nice." He said simply as he looked around.

"Hold that thought." I said quickly, before rushing into my room to grab him some clothes. I handed them over and a puzzled expression past over his face.

"Um; how come you have men's clothes?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh, well…they're my boyfriends…" I responded.

"Oh."

"Yeah, I forgot to mention him…" I said quickly, feeling the need to explain myself for some reason.

"Yes it seems you did." Klaus said simply.

We then stood in silence for a couple of moments before he spoke again.

"Does this boyfriend of yours know that I'm here?" He inquired.

"Um…well… No." I replied awkwardly.

"Ah, and why would that be?" Klaus asked.

"Well, because…umm…well…He'd be pissed obviously…" I stuttered out.

"Well, your secrets safe with me love." He replied with a small smirk before turning and placing the clothes on the bed.

"Ah, um… okay… sleep well…" I said rapidly before exiting the room quickly and closing the door behind me.

I paced into my room before sitting down on my bed; that may well have been the most awkward conversation I have ever had…

**Hi!  
So I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, I just wanted to say a quick thanks to ApekshaStar, Jwakeel, Pinkgem22, and cupcakesweetheart5 for their reviews; it's really great to hear what you think!  
**


	3. Drugs

**Klaus's POV**

I awoke with a start, staring around at my surroundings in shock, and that was when I realized I was in a comfortable bed in a quaint looking room. I wasn't in the same slum I'd been living in for the past god-only knows how long. The only problem right now however was the fact that my head was pounding and the sweat was dripping from my body.

That was when I realized I hadn't had a fix in over 16 hours, the one thing I did manage to recover from my previous place was my drugs; not that I would ever tell Caroline that. I dug into the pocket of my trouser I'd taken off and pulled out a syringe. I rolled up my sleeve, my hand shaking slightly and squeezed my arm, a nice healthy looking vein popped to the surface, I stuck in the needle and injected. Almost immediately calm rushed over me, and I felt so much better. I left the needle on the side deciding that I would dispose of it accordingly later; after-all the last thing I wanted was Caroline to find it.

I never intended on becoming a heroin addict; I'd always despised and laughed at those people weak enough to have their will bent by drugs, those who had no other option than to inject themselves to make them feel better. However after my brother's death it was the only way I'd found to cope; well... and the alcohol, which I'd almost completely weaned myself off. However, I just couldn't shake this addiction. It's probably what screwed me up so much in the first place; yes, after my brother's death my family did feel contempt towards me due to my involvement, but it was after I'd become addicted to the drugs that they finally lost all hope and disowned me. The feeling of wanting to die I guess just came from the depression and the withdrawal symptoms; but no matter how much I wanted to talk myself out of it on the bridge that day, all I could think of was the fact that I really did have nothing to live for. I lived for the drugs and the allure of alcohol; and that was no way to live, if I didn't end my life myself my unhealthy lifestyle would do it for me. However for the time being I guess it wouldn't hurt me just to stick around here; Caroline was obviously hell bent on fixing me and she didn't even know about the addictions, and aside from that she was gorgeous, and I had no objection to spending some time with a gorgeous girl. Especially a gorgeous girl who lied to her boyfriend for me; that always softened the blow.

I made my way out of the bedroom and into her living room and kitchen. Over the couch she had laid me some more clothes; I couldn't help but smile - she was giving me all of her boyfriend's clothing; I knew that when he found out about me, which he definitely would; he would not be happy.

On the counter in the kitchen she had left me some food to make myself some breakfast: Bacon, sausage, bread, tomatoes, beans; whoa... this girl thought the first step to solving my problems was to feed me up - well, I had no objections. Next to the food was a note:

_Hey Klaus,  
I left for work early, I might be late as that bitch Katherine is so unpredictable.  
I'll pick us up some food on the way home; feel free to do whatever you wish.  
Also - wasn't sure if you had money, but I left some out if you want to go shopping for some clothes of your own, I guess Tyler's can't fit you that well.  
C x  
P.S - there is caller ID on the home phone, if Tyler rings DO NOT answer; I need to let him know first otherwise he'll be mad. _

I gave a smirk as I read her rapid scrawl; I traced my fingers over the writing and imagined her hurrying around in an attempt to scribble this down whilst trying not to be late.

I set about making myself some food before grabbing a bin bag from the cupboard; I figured I could put the needles in this and stash them under the bed until a later date. As I opened the cupboard I came face to face with a rather large bottle of Vodka; I stared at it for a long time before slowly closing the cupboard, breathing slowly like a taught myself and trying to think of anything other than how good that would taste.

I ate the food rapidly, I should have realized how hungry I was before now but the addiction always foreshadowed any thought of hunger. When I was done I placed the plate in the sink and began to turn away; before thinking better of it and washing it up and placing it in the drying rack – Caroline was being kind enough letting me stay here, and the least I could do was tidy up after myself. The next thing I looked forward to was a shower; I stripped off my clothes in the center of the apartment, feeling wonderful about how much freedom I had, not having to worry if anyone would walk in on me or try and steal my things whilst I was gone. I padded through to Caroline's bathroom to discover her discarded clothing on the bathroom floor; yes, it seemed my theory had been correct, she had been running late this morning. I pushed them to one side before pulling across the shower curtain and turning it on, I gave it time to heat up before climbing under.

It felt amazing. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I'd had a real shower. The water rushed over my head, hair and down my body; I grabbed some shampoo from the side and lathered it up, it was heavenly. Next, I pulled some body wash from the shelf; it was rose scented (but I would deny all knowledge if ever asked!), I rubbed it all over my body before rinsing it off. Afterwards, I just stood for a while letting the warm water run over my skin.

Finally I decided that I was thoroughly scrubbed and clean; I pulled back the shower curtain and searched for a towel.

Bloody hell, I'd forgotten to grab one from the cupboard.

I let the water drip from me for a moment or two before deciding that I was suitably dry enough to make the walk from the bathroom to the cupboard in the hall. I stepped out of the shower and made my way over to the door before pulling it open and beginning to walk down the hall. I reached the cupboard and opened the door, searching for a suitable towel.

"Hey Klaus, I'm ba-" Caroline said as she came rushing through door, bumping unexpectedly into my very naked figure and knocking us both to the ground; me lying with my back on the carpet and her sprawled across me.

"OHMYGOD; WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!" She exclaimed, covering her eyes with her hands yet too stunned to move. Her bags scattered across the hallway floor.

"Care?! What the hell is this?" Another voice chimed in, and we both looked up to see a very angry looking man standing in the doorway.

"Oh, um… Tyler; I can explain!" Caroline shouted, quickly standing up and turning to the man. Ah… so this was the mysterious boyfriend.

"NO, Caroline I don't want to hear why you were all over some naked guy in your hallway; I think I've built up a pretty good idea without your help!" He shouted, his face as red as a beetroot as he turned to leave.

"Tyler please!" She exclaimed, placing a hand on his arm as he began to leave, he shook it off angrily, knocking her backwards before storming away.

I stood up quickly before wrapping a towel around my waist and turning to face her.

"Caroline love, I'm so sorry – I forgot to take a towel into the bathroom and then you came in and surprised me, and then well… You know what happened after that…" I said sheepishly to the woman who was quite literally smoking with fury in front of me.

"What a Jackass!" She shouted, stamping her foot in rage; something, which under different circumstances I think would have made me laugh.

"I know, I know, I'm an idiot, I'm sorry…" I muttered out.

"Not you, Tyler!" She roared, and I suddenly felt extremely grateful that it was him she was mad at and not me, bloody hell; I'd better not get on her bad side… I decided I'd better change the subject.

"So sweetheart, what are you doing back from work anyway?" I asked.

"Oh, I got to leave now because I have an appointment a bit later to speak to some people who want their house refurbished and I had no other work to do at the office. So, I figured we could go shopping and get you some things and then I could go to the appointment. Sound good?" Caroline asked me optimistically.

"Sure, but I should probably get dressed first as I'm not sure this is suitable shopping attire." I said with a laugh as I motioned to the towel currently wrapped around my waist.

"Mhhmm." Caroline responded tight lipped, ah yes; I just remembered she had seen 'the merchandise'.

**Caroline's POV**

I sat on the couch and waited whilst Klaus got dressed; I tried to think about work and my appointment later yet my mind just kept coming back around to thinking about how good he looked naked. He had toned, impressive muscles which were attractive and appealing; unlike the 'in your face' kind of muscles that Tyler had and liked to display at every opportunity. And as for everything else; I think it's best I say that he got extremely lucky in the genes department…

I tore my mind away from his naked body as he emerged from his room and into the living room.

"Ready to go love?" He inquired.

"Sure." I responded, before grabbing my car keys and the cash from the side and following him out of the apartment.

**Klaus's POV**

I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty as Caroline pulled some money from her wallet to pay for the clothes and frowned at what she found.

"I swear I left $200, out for you on the counter, Oh well I guess I made a mistake; there's only $100 here…" She said shaking her head, before pulling more money from her purse to pay the rest of the cost. I just nodded in response, unable to speak – little did she know, she did leave $200 on the counter; I had tucked away $100 of it for myself; I had some money, but not enough to pay for my drugs much longer and I couldn't think of any other way of funding my addiction. Sure, I could get a job; but that would take time, and I didn't have that.

"Thanks for this Caroline; I will pay you back as soon as I can." I said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it; when you're happy, healthy and no longer suicidal that will be plenty of pay back for me." She responded enthusiastically, I smiled, but inside I just felt empty, the fact she knew nothing about my addiction meant that her optimism was wrongly placed.

"Ohmygod, the time! I didn't realize how late it's got; do you mind coming with me to this appointment, it will be really quick and you can wait in the car if you want!" She said rapidly.

"Sure love." I replied good naturedly; after-all this women had unknowingly just donated a whole lot of money towards my drug problem.

We loaded our bags into the back of her car before setting off towards her clients, I leant back as the sun filtered through the windshield; the weather really was so much better here than it was in England.

"So, have you had a good day, a reasonably good day; or at least had some enjoyable bits?" Caroline asked hopefully as she drove. I felt a smile form on my features at the hope in her voice; she really was determined to fix me, she had meant it when she said she was going to show me there were good things to life. As I thought about it, I did realize that I had enjoyed my time with her; she was beautiful and full of light, I really was drawn to her, and I knew that I definitely wanted to spend some more time in her company.

"Well sweetheart; the highlight for me definitely had to be you sprawled all over my naked body…" I said with a smirk on my face as a blush rose on her cheeks and she gave me a teasing slap.

"We shall never _ever_ mention that incident again – okay?" She said as she turned her head towards me with a very determined facial expression.

"Okay." I replied, but I knew that even though we may not speak of it I will definitely be replaying it in my mind…

I laughed and turned to stare out of the window and felt my heart begin to race.

"No." I gasped involuntarily.

"What's the matter?" Caroline asked looking worried.

"Oh nothing, just talking to myself." I muttered as I slumped back in my seat and lowered my head. I swallowed once more as we entered the gated community and begin to drive down the sickeningly familiar road.

"Woah; the people living here are loaded." Caroline exclaimed as we continued driving.

"Mhhmm…" I replied in a non-committal way.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing; what were the odds that we would be back in my old community – full of the pretentious and stinking rich families. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and hoped like hell that we would pull up at any house other than my families.

"Here we are." Caroline said as she pulled up and parked. I opened my eyes and turned to look out of the window…

Yep; there was my family's home, standing tall in all its expense and grandeur; I swallowed hard once again before slumping down further in my seat and putting on the sunglasses we had just purchased.

"Do you want to come in with me?" Caroline inquired as she undid her seatbelt.

"No. Thanks." I said rapidly; before forcing a smile onto my face. A puzzled expression passed over Caroline's face and it looks like she was about to say something, but it seemed she let it go and climbed out of the car.

"I won't be long." She added quickly before pacing towards the gate and pressing the intercom.

I couldn't believe my family were using Caroline's firm for their refurbishment; oh well… The one thing I did know was that once again the Mikaelsons had picked the best.

**Caroline's POV**

The gate buzzed open and I walked up the long, grand path towards the front door; it was all very _very _expensive looking and the thought of designing a property for a family with this much money excited me more that I could describe. I climbed the steps and knocked a few times on the door before waiting for a reply.

I was left standing for a moment or two, but finally a tall, dark haired, attractive man answered the door. I'm pretty sure my mouth formed an 'O' shape as I admired his figure.

"Hello Caroline, I'm Elijah – please come in…" The man said politely in an inviting British accent.

"Oh…um… yes; nice to meet you Elijah." I stuttered out, as I stepped through the door whilst thinking to myself: Pull yourself together!

"Wow." I exclaimed as I took in their huge, grand hallway. – It was beautiful; I couldn't believe they wanted to redesign this place.

"I believe the term the kids are using these days is OMG." Elijah said with a laugh.

"So, what exactly is it you want me to do today?" I inquired; unsure as to whether this was a full out meeting and tour, or just a casual meeting.

"Today I thought it would be a good idea for you to have a quick tour of our home, meet the family and generally just get a feel for what we would like."

"Woah; you didn't say our designer was going to be hot!" A male voice exclaimed from the other end of the hall, I turned to see another, equally attractive man approaching me.

"Kol, please remember your manners." Elijah scolded the man.

I blushed as he grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips before pressing a kiss to my knuckles.

"Nice to meet you darling; I'm Kol." The man said with a cheeky smile on his face.

"I'm Caroline." I replied with a smile; it was nice to be flirted with every now and then.

"Please excuse my brother Caroline; he's the closest thing you'll find to an animal outside the zoo." Elijah stated as he stared coldly at his brother. I just laughed at his speech; this man really did have a way with words.

Kol shook his head as he laughed and began to turn and walk away.

"It was nice to meet you darling!" He shouted as he left.

"Anyway, let's continue with the tour." Elijah said, as he guided me through the hall, the dining room, living room, multiple bathrooms and studies. I rapidly made sketches on my notepad as he led me through the house; they would help me with my plans later. Finally it seemed we reached the center of the house: A massive ballroom, with two spiral staircases leading to the second floor at the end.

"Ohmygod; this is just… Amazing!" I exclaimed as we paced into the middle and I spun around taking it all in.

"Thank you; this is obviously where we like to entertain guests. – Actually, we're having a ball pretty soon and it would be my absolute pleasure if you could attend. If you leave your details I'll have an invitation sent to your home." Elijah said chivalrously.

"Woah, thank you." I replied, completely stunned.

Once I was done making sketches of the ballroom, we then made our way upstairs and into the bedrooms. When we reached the end of the corridor there were still two rooms we hadn't entered which puzzled me.

"What's in there?" I asked. However I instantly regretted it as I saw Elijah's friendly face become guarded and his expression become pained.

"We don't like to talk about it, but those are two of my brother's rooms: Niklaus and Henrik however due to certain circumstances they no longer live here." Elijah said sadly.

I just nodded and chose not to say anything more; I could tell it was a touchy subject.

"Anyway; our final stop is the kitchen, I imagine the rest of the family will be down there."

We made our way back down the corridor and multiple staircases before finally ending up in a large kitchen, where many people were clustered around the table talking; one of them I recognized as Kol.

"Everyone, this is Caroline – She is the talented woman who will be redesigning our home; I can tell our home is in very good hands." Elijah said grandly.

"Caroline, this is my sister Rebecca and my brother Finn, My mother Esther and my father Mikael." Elijah said with a smile as he gestured to each person seated around the table.

"It's lovely to meet you." I said trying to be friendly, despite the fact I felt like I was being analyzed by each and every one of them – well, I guess I was.

Everyone nodded simply in my direction, not bothering to speak; well all except one.

"Hi Caroline, I'm Rebecca!" The woman exclaimed, she was about my age, and I immediately took a liking to her; I could tell she was definitely my sort of person. I smiled warmly at her, before realizing how late it had gotten; I'd left Klaus waiting for ages.

"Ohmygosh; I didn't realize what the time was, I really have to go – but I'll start drawing up some plans and ring you to discuss them." I said quickly, before turning and walking back in the direction I came – Elijah followed; it seemed he was going to see me out.

"Thanks for your time Caroline." Elijah said pleasantly as he opened the door.

"No problem." I responded with a quick smile and a wave before practically running down their path.

"Sorry I took so long Klaus, I got a carried away; the Mikaelson family have an exquisite home – I wish you could have seen it!" I exclaimed as I got into the car and put on my seatbelt.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, the only thing is they all seem a bit uptight; well except this really lovely woman called Rebecca and this nice and well… really hot man called Elijah!" I continued as I looked over at Klaus. I saw a funny expression pass over his face; I couldn't decide quite what it was but it seemed bit of a mixture of guilt, annoyance and amusement.

"What's up?" I asked curious.

"Oh nothing love; it's just that you make this family sound both uptight and wonderful; it's very amusing." He said with a laugh.

"I guess so; I mean I imagine the rest of the family has a reason to be a bit guarded or whatever after-all Elijah mentioned something about two of his brother being gone – I guess that must have been painful for them." I replied wisely.

"WHAT did he tell you?" Klaus exclaimed suddenly turning and staring at me with a pained expression on his face.

"Woah Klaus; chill out, he didn't go into detail, that's all that he told me." I responded puzzled.

"Oh okay." He replied simply, and then we fell into silence for the rest of the journey home.

**Klaus's POV**

We arrived back at Caroline's apartment and went to do our separate business. I could tell that Caroline was slightly pissed off at me; I knew that it was wrong to snap at her especially after all that she had done for me. However she had definitely hit a nerve; I couldn't believe she was the designer for my family. – I didn't want her involved with them; especially my mother and father, they wreaked nothing but havoc. Furthermore it was risky for me too; there was always the risk that she would discover who I really was; it was a good job I hadn't told her my last name. I imagined there would definitely not be any pictures of me around the house; not after they decided that it was my fault my brother was dead, and my father was never particularly fond of me considering I was not biologically his; therefore I guessed they wouldn't really want anything around to remind them of me and all the shit that I brought.

Once I'd finished putting all of today's purchases away I decided it was time to go and apologize to Caroline; after-all I was living under her roof. Before that however I knew it was time for another fix, I injected myself quickly before stashing the needle and making my way into the living room, calm rushing over me.

"Caroline." I said sincerely; and she looked up from her sketchpad.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for snapping earlier, I was just feeling a bit down and the last thing I wanted was to discuss how rich and wonderful this family was." I continued, trying to think of the most convincing lie possible.

"It's fine." She responded exhaling quickly and pushing her chair away from the table and sitting back.

"Ugh. I just can't get this drawing right; I have so many ideas yet I can't get them down on paper – the Mikaelson family are going to think I'm going to think I'm completely useless and then Katherine will fire me!" She shouted in frustration.

"I'll help you." I blurted out before thinking; however it could work.

"How?" Caroline asked as I pulled up a seat beside her and grabbed the sketchpad and pencil.

"I'm an artist remember? You tell me what to draw and it shall be done…" I said cheerily; well it worked as a smile broke out across her face and we set to work.

It gave me a reason to sit closer to her as she pointed to areas on the paper and described how she wanted things drawn out. I could smell her perfume, sweet and alluring; I breathed deeply and felt heady.

"Klaus? Are you listening? You totally just zoned out then…" Caroline said breaking my thought process.

"Sure yes, make that line a bit thicker; I'm on it…" I responded quickly before continuing with the sketches.

Finally we finished and I looked up at the clock to discover that we had been working for over 2 hours! I looked down at the complete pieces and was pretty proud of the result.

"Ohmygod, these are amazing!" Caroline exclaimed as she grabbed the sketch pad and flicked through page after page whilst jumping up and down with excitement.

"You are actually the best!" She continued as she placed the pad back on the table and threw her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. I was shocked by her sudden display of thanks but I responded quickly and I too put my arms around her, pulling her tighter to me. After a moment or two the moment passed and suddenly everything seemed rather awkward, Caroline pulled away from me and straightened herself out; we then just stared in silence at one another.

"So, umm…It's got pretty late; shall we just order a take-away?" She inquired, breaking the silence.

"Yes sweetheart; that sounds great." I responded.

"Any preference?" She continued as she pulled open a kitchen draw and began to rifle through the many take-out leaflets she had stashed away.

"No, I'm fine having whatever you want." I added agreeably.

"Okay." She responded. I heard her flick through a leaflet and then pick up the phone; I listened in on the phone call, it seems we were having the Chinese platter for two. Caroline hung up and then came and sat down on the sofa beside me.

"It's a good job you're here; when I only order for one you don't get the free prawn crackers…" she said seriously. I couldn't help the laugh that exploded from me.

"Yet another reason not to kill myself then love; so you can continue getting free prawn crackers when you order Chinese?!" I replied sarcastically, unable to control my laughter.

Caroline soon joined in and we were quite literally reduced to a pair of small children laughing over nothing. Finally we stopped laughing and sat in a comfortable silence until Caroline turned on the television.

"Do you like CSI?" She inquired as she flicked through the channels.

"CSI is fine with me sweetheart." I responded; secretly happy – I'd always had some kind of addiction to this program; I think it was something to do with the fact of how quickly and easily they solved all these crimes. Also the fact that the action in it was pretty good too.

"Oh good, I love this program; all their equipment is so cool, all the people are really hot…" Caroline said mumbling as she stared at the TV.

"Oh, I've definitely seen more beautiful…" I said, the words slipping from my mouth as I stared at her. Oh bloody hell; I bet I've probably scared her off now. I looked back over at her and saw that she was so immersed in CSI that she hadn't even noticed I'd spoken. Thank god.

Whilst she was pre-occupied I knew it was time for me to inject otherwise I'd be jumpy and thoughtless for the rest of the night.

I rose from the sofa and made my way into my room.

**Caroline's POV**

The doorbell rang loudly breaking my gaze away from the TV. I got up and answered the door; I collected the food and paid the delivery man.

"Klaus, the foods here!" I shouted, yet I received no reply. I paced into the living room and placed the food on the table before calling Klaus once more.

"Klaus come out of your room, the foods getting cold!" I shouted, but received no reply just like before.

"Ugh, are you seriously going to make me come and get you?!" I exclaimed feeling annoyed; I was starving and all I wanted to do was just eat right now. I pushed open the door to Klaus's room and came face to face with a horrifying sight.

"No…" I muttered as I looked at him.

Klaus lay passed out on the floor, his face pale and his lips a dangerous blue color. Around him was lots of used needles and poking from his pocket I saw the money that I had left him the other day.

He wasn't just suicidal.

He was an addict.

I hadn't been in this position before; I had no idea what to do. However I knew the first move was to call an ambulance; I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. Once that was done I rushed over to his side and looked closer at him. I could tell there was nothing I could do. I just sat beside him and held his hand tightly as he lay unconscious. I can't believe he hadn't even said anything to me; how did I not know that I had an addict living under my roof – surely there must have been signs?

I heard sirens in the distance and I went into the kitchen to grab a plastic bag; I collected up all the needles and placed them in the bag – I guess if they treated him in hospital they would need evidence of what he had taken to prescribe the right medication; I'm sure it was heroin but I knew precautions were required in situations like this.

A knock came on the door and I ran and opened it; there stood an ambulance crew.

"Good evening ma'am; how can I help you?" The man asked politely.

"Please, come this way…" I said rapidly as I led them through to the guest room were Klaus was passed out on the floor.

"Grab a stretcher for me please Lexi, we're going to need it…" The man said rapidly.

"Coming right up!" The blonde girl exclaimed as she threw me a warm smile and rapidly exited the apartment.

The man checked him over, he checked his heart rate and his breathing before sitting back and looking at me.

"Sorry, I feel very rude for not introducing myself – I'm Vaughn." He said enthusiastically; I take it he was trying to distract me from the very dead looking figure on my carpet.

"I'm Caroline." I responded, however my thoughts were on other things.

"You don't need to worry; this is just a regular over-dose – we'll take him to the hospital, we'll check him over and attach a UV line to eliminate the effects.

"Okay." I replied, utterly relieved. – Both by the fact that he was going to be alright and that the medical bill shouldn't be too large.

I watched as they carefully loaded Klaus's unconscious body into the back of the ambulance; I still couldn't believe this was happening.

"You want to ride with him ma'am?" Vaughn inquired as he held the door open.

I debated my options; to be honest I was absolutely furious with Klaus, and I didn't owe him anything – I was no relation and I'd only known him a couple of days. Yet I still felt obliged to go with him; I always was a sucker for trouble. I shook my head at my bad decisions before climbing into the back beside Klaus.

**Klaus's POV**

I woke up staring at a starch white ceiling and felt uncomfortable clothing against my skin. I tilted my head to the side and discovered that my head was absolutely pounding from the movement. I saw the hospital bed I was lying in, I saw the drip connected to my arm; and I also saw Caroline's furious face.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Caroline shouted at me; I cringed as her words rang around my head causing a shooting pain.

"I'm sorry." I croaked out, before reaching forward for my glass of water at the table, I took a small sip and watched as Caroline formulated her response. – To be honest she looked like she was ready to explode at any moment.

"I get it okay Klaus; drugs are your coping mechanism or whatever, but doing them in my house, with the money I gave you is _so _not okay." Caroline said with a tight voice, barely keeping her temper under wraps.

"I know love; I know that drugs are the lowest of the low, I never intended to get addicted but after everything that happened, well… I just couldn't help it…" I said slowly; not wanting to disclose too much information.

"I'm not mad that you're doing drugs Klaus; I'm mad that you didn't _tell _me you were doing drugs! I could have helped you, understood better, found a good rehab for you or something! You let me believe I could actually help you when you've dug this hole for yourself so deep!" She shouted again; and that was when I realized, the whole drug thing didn't really matter to her. – It was the fact she thought I didn't trust her enough to tell her, she was obviously offended.

"I'm sorry Caroline, I didn't know _how _to tell you; I've never told anyone. Anyway the idea of going to rehab is absolutely ridiculous, I would never go there; I'm strong enough to get off the drugs myself." I stated sincerely; there was no way in hell I'd go into rehab.

"Well you'd better change your opinions pretty quick then Klaus; because outside this hospital room there are cops. Heroin use is illegal, you and I both know that; they are escorting you to rehab themselves and letting you get away with a caution." She responded uneasily; I could tell she knew I would react badly to this.

"WHAT?" I roared; infuriated by the fact she had seemingly made a bargain on my behalf, and one I did not want.

"I told you Klaus; you need to go, you need to sort yourself out." She said calmly.

"I won't go."

"Yes. You will."

"I won't." I continued adamant.

"You will Klaus. You need this. Please." The pleading in her eyes was so desperate I couldn't refuse again; anyway I figured how bad could rehab be? At least you get free meals and a bed.

"Okay." I answered defeated.

"Great." She replied, exhaling loudly as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"I'm going to pay you back Caroline; for every single penny of that money I stole for drugs, I promise." I said sincerely.

"Seriously Klaus shut up. I told you the only payment I want is you better!" She insisted.

"Okay." I responded again, wondering how I'd gotten so lucky to meet a woman so wonderful and understanding as Caroline. We remained in a comfortable silence until a thought hit me.

"Will you come visit me?" I asked shyly, suddenly scared of facing this alone.

"Yes Klaus, every day if I can; I promise…" She said with an enthusiastic smile.

"Thanks…" I muttered; but we were interrupted by the arrival of the cops. They handed over my clothes and told me to go and change; they would be escorting me to rehab now that I had been discharged. Caroline lifted up a bag from beneath her feet and handed it to one of the officers; I imagined it was my things. A loud buzzing suddenly went off from Caroline's phone.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Ohmygosh; yes… I'll be right there, I didn't realize the time!" She exclaimed before hanging up.

"I'm sorry Klaus, I've got to go now; but I will visit you soon okay?" She said before pulling me into a quick hug and quite literally running from the hospital room. I shook my head with silent laughter at her time keeping; it really was something else…

I made my way into the bathroom and pulled on my clothes slowly; I was not ready for rehab, I couldn't imagine facing this world without the drug that kept me going – But I was going to do this; I was going to get clean for Caroline…

**Hi!  
So I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has reviewed it was great to hear from you. Also, if you have time it would be lovely if you could leave a review as I would really like to hear what people think.  
Thanks!  
:D**


	4. Broken friendship

**Klaus's POV**

Rehab was not fun; not at all, imagine being stuck in a place with all of the people that you always go out of your way to avoid on the street; people that you don't want to associate with or fear may be dangerous. Imagine that but a thousand times worse; I needed to get out of this place - the day, the day was fine; the people in here made pretty good conversation to be honest, but at night, well night was when it was worse. All I could hear from my bed was screaming, crying and whining; people pining for the drugs that kept them going. - Sometimes, well sometimes I think it was me; on the worse days, the days Caroline couldn't come and visit I felt like I was burning from the inside out, ready to combust at any moment. My brain felt lazy and slow without a regular fix and I felt clumsy and not myself; I realized that my dependence had changed my character and I knew that I couldn't let that happen.

I'd been here a month so far; I'd been on a medical substitute for heroin for the first week; the next week the same but less regular; and the previous two weeks it was the weakest concentration possible and only twice a day. - I had to admit it was working; the pain and intense feelings of need weren't so bad, but that wasn't the problem, I still hurt; I still pined for it, the one thing that kept me feeling whole since the accident and the abandonment by my family. They told us we had to find another reason to live, something else to find excitement in - I think it was safe to say that I had found that Person:

Caroline.

I didn't know if she felt the same; we had fun together, chatted and flirted often - but I wasn't quite sure she could picture herself with me, a soon to be ex-addict with issues. She had enough baggage of her own; I should know she did so love to bitch on about Katherine from work; not that I didn't support her argument, but bloody hell was it repetitive. I told her if she was that sick of it she should just quit her job, because any other firm would be lucky to have her - Caroline thought different; she couldn't see herself how I saw her, so beautiful and full of light. She really was my angel - When I lay awake at night I often thought how my life could have turned out differently; well, it could have ended for starters. If Caroline hadn't have been there on the freeway that day I would have never met her, I would have never had the opportunity to attempt to fix myself. I'd told her it was an impossible job; that I, KIaus - was unfixable; it seems however this woman had a knack for difficult cases because I was beginning to feel like a completely new person. I remember what Caroline had said to me that very day: "You're not afraid of death, you're afraid of living"; well that wasn't true anymore, I was looking forward in life; when I got out of here I intended to do things differently, a fresh start, a new job, a new home, everything... I'd spent far too long moping over what was gone; the accident had been what it was: an accident. My family could blame me all they liked, but I'd realized that blaming myself had been enough punishment and I had suffered for far too long.

Which brings me back to my main point; I had nothing much to look forward to today, Caroline wasn't visiting - she had one of the final stages of a big meeting over the refurbishment of my family's home. I did feel slightly bitter that she couldn't come see me in favor of my family, but when I thought about it I knew I was being unreasonable; she wasn't choosing my family over me, she had to go because it was her job - and anyway, she didn't know they were my family so you couldn't blame her. It surprised me how she hadn't figured it all out yet; she'd been working with my family for over a month and I had never come up - Caroline didn't know my last name so I figured that helped; and I was thankful for that.

"Klaus; you have a visitor." I looked up from my magazine at the nurse who was speaking, she spoke with a gentle voice and a pleasant smile, yet it wasn't her smile that I was pining. I felt a rush of optimism flow through me, Caroline must have finished with work early, she'd made some time to come and see me after all. I smile broke across my features as I rose from my seat and followed the nurse through to the visitor's room. However, who I saw in the visitor's room was the last person I wanted.

"Niklaus." The cold voice said as I sat down guardedly.

"What do you want Mikael." I responded equally as cold, but I wanted to know why my father had taken this trip down here to see me.

"I discovered we had a connection; it just so happened that a few days ago a tasty little blond woman who just happens to be refurbishing my home spoke about a man who she was looking out for; who just happened to be in rehab." He continued.

"You didn't tell her about me did you?" I asked concerned but trying not to show it.

"Of course not, I didn't give away your dirty little secret - anyway, whenever possible I try my best not to mention that I have anything to do with you; especially considering how you got my son killed."

"I didn't kill Henrik, it was an accident. Why are you really here?" I asked defensively.

"I just wanted to tell you that you may get clean, and you may think that you're a new person but you Niklaus will never change. You will always be the disappointing, careless, unlovable screw up you have always been. You killed your brother; you were blind and stupid and drove that car off Wickery bridge, you are the reason my real son is dead. I never ever cared for you, and I always knew you weren't mine; I would never have fathered a peace of scum such as yourself. I wanted to warn you not to come anywhere near my family; it's been a long time Niklaus but none of us forgive you, we still hate you with all our hearts; we all loved Henrik far more than you, and we all know that it should have been you that died that day, not him." My father said viciously. His words pained me more than any physical injury ever could. All my insecurities and regrets came rushing back, my head pounded and my palms began to sweat. I felt a stab of pain in my stomach and sickness rising as his words struck me; I couldn't even reply. Sweat began dripping from my brow as I watched Mikael walk away.

I'm Disappointing.

I'm Careless.

I'm a screw up.

I'm a killer.

The words kept rushing round and around my mind, I stumbled up from the bench and began to stagger away from the visitor's room, my eyes screwed tightly shut trying to erase the thoughts.

"Klaus are you okay?" A nurse asked concerned.

"I'm fine. I just need to get to my room and rest - can you help me?" I inquired, she nodded before slowly helping me back to my room, I climbed onto my bed and lay down before thanking her and dismissing her.

I'm unlovable.

I'm blind and stupid.

Caroline didn't come visit today.

My mind kept assaulting me with more and more thoughts, images and memories - I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled back my mattress to expose the small box I had tucked underneath. I ripped off the lid and pulled out multiple needles before injecting myself multiples times. A familiar type of calm rushed over me, but the thoughts never left.

My family hated me.

I killed my brother.

I should have died.

Caroline didn't come and visit.

I knew now that there was no hope for me, I injected myself once more in the hope to find some kind of peace; but I knew that would never happen. There was no point in me staying here, no point wasting my time as I knew there would never be any kind of redemption for what I had done. I was unlovable; Caroline would never see me as a decent person, she probably secretly hated me just like my family - she was probably so glad that she couldn't visit today, so happy to have a break from playing the concerned friend.

I was a screw up.

A killer.

A disappointment.

Somehow though, I thought maybe, just maybe if I could see Caroline I would feel better. She would help me, always help me; just like the time she helped me on the bridge.

I just needed to get out of here first.

**Caroline's POV**

Rebecca and I staggered up the stairs laughing; we'd been out again tonight for the fourth night in a row, it seemed that working this job really had some benefits. I'd found a new best friend.

Her father Mikael was getting pretty fed up of her keep coming home drunk, and I was worried he would think I was a bad influence and take me off the refurbishment job; that was why she was crashing at mine tonight.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to crash at yours tonight Care?" she asked as we continued up the staircase giggling.

"Yes Bex, it's fine, I live alone. I had this roommate for a short time; but he's gone now and I kind of miss him. So you staying over will be a really nice change." I responded, every word I said completely true; I did miss Klaus, I know he hadn't stayed for long but I missed his presence in the house. I never noticed before how empty my apartment was.

"Ooh; a male roommate eh? Was he hot?!" She exclaimed with a laugh as I attempted to open the door.

"Dead hot, and a really sweet guy too. – yet let's just say he had some serious issues!" I replied laughing; Klaus was one of the loveliest guys I knew, but somehow stealing from me and being an addict really hadn't started off our friendship well. Maybe when he got clean there would be a future for us, but at the moment definitely not…

"Well you'd better keep me posted…" She laughed in response as I finally got the front door open and we burst into the house.

"Oh god, I've got work tomorrow and I'm going to have the biggest hangover ever..." I muttered out as Becca laughed at me.

"Oh don't worry Care, tell your boss you're coming over to a meeting at mine and instead sleep in; I'll vouch for you. Now where's the tequila?!" Becca responded.

"To the kitchen!" I exclaimed, now thoroughly invested in this drunken adventure. We ran to the kitchen but came to an abrupt halt at what we discovered.

"Klaus?! " Becca and I both exclaimed.

"Becca? Caroline?" Klaus said confused; looking as puzzled as I felt. I frowned as I took in his condition, we could sort out our mutual knowing one another later, but my priority right now was the fact that Klaus was not in rehab and clearly high.

"Care how do you…?" Becca began to say.

"Not now Becca, we need to sort out Klaus's problem now." I said with authority, as I paced over towards where Klaus sat at my kitchen table before giving him a hard slap around the face.

"A MONTH KLAUS. THAT'S HOW LONG YOU'D BEEN IN REHAB. YOU WERE DOING SO WELL, WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE THIS!" I shouted at him as he swayed from side to side in his drug induced haze.

"I missed you love, I missed you today; I really wanted to see you…" He murmured out; dazed from both the drugs and the slap I just dealt him.

"Why the drugs then Klaus, or the breaking out of rehab; you could have just called – I would have made the time!" I exclaimed, furious with him and disappointed with the fact that after he'd done so well he'd gone and ruined it.

"I had a run in with my father…"

"Our father? What?" Becca exclaimed, and I turned to her in shock as I heard her refer to him as 'Her father'. I would have spoken but I was distracted as Klaus promptly passed out in front of us.

"Seriously, again?" I said rolling my eyes.

"Help me get him to the couch Becca, then you and I seriously need to talk…"

Rebecca took his arms and I took his legs and we slowly moved him to the couch, before I propped him up on a pillow and covered him over with a blanket.

"Now, please Rebecca explain to me – are you really his brother, and if so where the hell were you when he tried to fling himself from a bridge?!" I shouted, angry now that he'd apparently been abandoned by his family.

"He tried to throw himself from a bridge?! I haven't seen my brother in years!" She exclaimed in response, looking equally as angry as me.

"Okay, I think we're going to need that Tequila before we have a talk…" I said defeated, finally understanding that this web was way _way_ more twisted than I first thought.

I got the shot glasses and the bottle and we sat down at the table, we promptly both took a shot before looking back at one another.

"My brother tried to commit suicide?" Rebecca asked alarmed, obviously wanting to know the details.

"Wait, wait, wait… I need some background information; before we get into any of that I need to know why you haven't seen Klaus in so long; it's probably got something to do with the reason that he was so screwed up when I found him…" I said reasonably.

"Basically, six years ago Klaus and my brother Henrik were driving home from a baseball game; it was late and Klaus was driving, Henrik was our younger brother. They got into an accident and their car was driven off the side of the bridge, Klaus got out but Henrik drowned. The car they hit had a broken headlight and Klaus didn't see that was what caused the accident. Klaus blamed himself, and my father blamed Klaus; Klaus started drinking and a month after the accident my family never heard from Klaus again, well… until now…" Rebecca said sadly.

"Ohmygod…" I muttered out; that was the accident that Klaus always referred to, part of the reason he wanted to kill himself.

"Your turn Caroline, don't leave me waiting – I need to know what's happened to my brother. "

"Well, just under two months ago I found Klaus preparing _to_ jump from a freeway bridge; I convinced him otherwise and told him to come and stay with me ; that I could prove to him he had reasons to live. Not long after that I discovered him unconscious on the floor from a drug overdose, he went into rehab and I visited him; he was nearly clean – then tonight he just turned up here talking rubbish and obviously high." I said, watching as Rebecca's eyes rapidly widened as I told the tale.

"Bloody hell; this is seriously messed up." She exclaimed, bringing a smile to my face as she coined the phrase Klaus so often used.

"I think our best bet is to wait for him to wake up and then talk this over with him; I was willing to give your brother a chance Rebecca, everything was going so well but now he's gone and done this. I can't take him back Becca I'm sorry…" I said honestly, I'd given him a chance and after doing so well he'd gone and ruined it, it seemed he couldn't be fixed after all. Also, I was beginning to form an attachment to this man, but I knew I couldn't spend any more time with him because I couldn't afford to build up such hope and have it broken just like tonight. I wasn't that kind of person.

"I understand; I don't know where my brother has been all these years Caroline. But I have missed him more than you can ever imagine; I'm moving out of my family's home and I want him to come live with me – we need to make up for lost time, I intend to make up for every single moment that I have missed with him." Rebecca exclaimed as tears formed in her eyes; I pulled her into a hug, and then we just sat in silence, staring at Klaus waiting for him to wake.

**Klaus's POV**

I awoke to find two blondes staring intently at me; one of them Caroline and one of them my sister Rebecca. It seemed that I hadn't taken into consideration the fact that Caroline and my sister might have made friends considering Caroline was working for my family.

"Niklaus; where have you been?!" Rebecca exclaimed as soon as she noticed I was awake.

"What do you mean sister? I left home the month after Henrik's death just like father told me to. He told me that the family had decided I could no longer live with you or have anything to do with you because it was too painful and that you all held me responsible for the death of our brother!"

"Bloody hell, Nik that's a load of rubbish. Mother, Kol, Finn, Elijah and I – none of us held you responsible. Oh god; father sent you away by lying to you!" Becca said with a furious expression on her face.

"Wait; you don't hate me?" I inquired, thinking therefore that Mikael's visit to me today had been full of rubbish too.

"No of course not! None of us do, well you know what Mikael's like, but no Niklaus we have never held you responsible. We have missed you more than you can imagine, we've been looking for you since you left!" She continued as she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back tightly, before looking over at Caroline and knowing that we needed to talk.

"Umm, Becca; do you mind if Caroline and I have a word in private?" I inquired, a funny expression passed over her face but she did as I asked.

"I'm sorry Caroline, I'm so sorry." I murmured as she approached me.

"Why did you do it Klaus?" She asked sadly.

"My father came to visit today, said all sorts of things; I couldn't help myself I needed the drugs more than you could ever imagine Caroline, and I missed you!" I said attempting to defend myself.

"You know what Klaus; shit happens – yes, your brother is dead, yes your father is a lying bully; but there is no way in hell you can keep using excuses like that for screwing up your life at every opportunity. I put all my hope into you, and you know what you were doing so well; we were getting along so well and I couldn't help but think what might happen once you were out of rehab and clean. But you have gone and ruined everything, any potential that we may have had is gone because I can't trust you anymore…" She said sadly.

"I'm sorry-" I began, but she rapidly cut in.

"No; Klaus don't interrupt me. You and I, whatever this is, is over. You can't stay here anymore; you have your sisters support now, and I dare-say your whole families. Whatever you do now is up to you, go to rehab, don't go to rehab, do drugs, don't do drugs; I honestly don't care. I don't hate you, I understand why you did it, but I just don't care anymore. I'm going to stay at my friend Elena's, that will give you enough time to clear out any things that you want, tell Rebecca to call me. – but Klaus, I don't want to see you ever again, okay?" She muttered sadly; I just nodded in response, as anger and sadness had all melded into one and speech was failing me.

I watched as Caroline got up and left the room, Rebecca came in quickly after she left.

"Nik, what's happening?" She inquired as she sat down beside me.

"I love you Becca I really do, and I'm glad I've got you back – but that woman, Caroline Forbes, has been the only good thing in my life just lately; some may even call her my guardian angel. But now, now she's gone…" I said, unable to believe that she had just given up on me.

"I'm sure you and her can sort things out."

"No, I don't think we can…" I muttered out angrily, my emotions getting the better of me; I began to feel bitter and resentful. I may have done wrong, made a mistake, screwed up; whatever you want to call it. But Caroline had been so determined, she had sworn to me that she could show me that life was really worth living and that I was missing out – she was just starting to change things for me; but now she'd gone and left me hanging, left me with an empty promise. And that, well that just made me angry.

If I only knew one thing, I knew that Caroline Forbes and I were so _so_ not done. I was going to show her exactly what she was missing out on; there were going to be no more weak moments for me; from now on I was going to be the Niklaus Mikaelson I once was; strong, powerful, and I always got my way…

**Hi guys,  
Sorry Klaus was kind of spiralling in this chapter. Thank you for all of the reviews it was great to hear what you think.  
Also, I know that it's hard to picture Klaus as a homeless drug addict, but don't worry that will all be changing soon!  
To anyone who reads my other stories I just wanted to say I'm so sorry that I haven't updated for a while, I'll try my best to catch up with all of them!  
Please continue reading, reviewing and following!**

**Thank you :D**


	5. New Boss

**5 months later.**

**Caroline's POV**

I wasn't quite sure if this was a good idea or not, tonight I was going on a date with Tyler since our not so dignified break up; I knew Tyler was an ass, but the problem was he could be so nice when he wanted. I knew it was a foolish thing to do; go back out with your ex but I missed him and I hadn't been on a date since my relationship with him.

Life just lately had been pretty boring if I were quite honest; the Mikaelsons job was now completed and all the building work was nearly finished - they were having their ball soon to celebrate the completion of the work, and I was invited; I wasn't sure whether I was going to go though. I knew that he would be there, Klaus; and I just wasn't sure if I could handle myself around him.

I hadn't spoken to him since the fated night Rebecca and I found him in my apartment; however Becca always kept me updated, it seems she really is determined for Klaus and I to be friends again - I can't see it happening though. Klaus was now out of rehab and searching for a job which made me happy; I was glad that he'd finally sorted his life out - he was now living with his sister but intended to move out once he found himself a decent job. It made me smile now that he was with his family once again; Esther had finally chucked MIkael, I guess she finally realized what a manipulative asshole he is; about time too...

In the five months that had passed since I'd seen Klaus I thought about him each and every day; I knew it was a really cheesy thing to say, but it's true. I only knew him for less than two months, but they really did change my life. Klaus had depended on me and that had built an understanding between us that I could never forget - I now spent many nights wondering over my decision to cut him from my life, I missed him and I guess that could be easily solved by a phone call but I was worried; I couldn't do it - what if he hung up on me or got angry? I couldn't face that; which once again brought me back around to my date with Tyler. To be honest I was only going to feel better about myself; I knew Tyler wanted me back, and it was the easier option, fun and companionship without the worry of how the other person felt about me.

I put the final touches to my outfit before making my way out of my apartment and down to the car; I had agreed that I would meet Tyler at the bar - this was always a good method when going on a date with someone you weren't sure about, it meant avoiding an awkward car ride home if things didn't go to plan. I started the engine and exited the parking lot, whilst trying to erase any worries from my mind; I was only going to see Tyler, before we broke up we'd been dating since high school, we knew everything about one another, even the bad things; there was nothing to worry about - right?!

**Klaus's POV**

"NIK, you cannot go and work there; are you bloody insane!?" Rebecca roared at me from across the living room; I felt a smirk break across my face at her words.

"Stop over reacting sister; I need a job and one has come up, I've been searching for a long time and I'd be a fool if I turned it down..." I replied with a laugh, as I pulled on a shirt and searched for my keys.

"You won't be able to separate yourself, people will notice this and doubt your authority." She said concerned.

"Relax Becca; everything will work out fine - you'll see. I'm going to meet Elijah, I shouldn't be back too late considering I won't touch a drink..." I said sarcastically; ever since everything that went wrong I have completely cleaned up my act, I don't drink at all just because I've completely lost the taste for it and of course, I will never do drugs again. Cleaning up my act had been hard, but I promised to myself that I would do it, and that is exactly what I did.

The fact I was starting my new job tomorrow was just the icing on the cake; I was a completely new person, I had my family back and everything I needed; well except one thing.

It was hard to put into words how much I missed Caroline Forbes; I hadn't known her long but she'd changed my life, well she saved it first... It had been a long while since I'd seen her but I hadn't forgotten her laugh, the way she flipped her hair over her shoulders or how her smile was slightly crooked. Rebecca kept me updated on all things Caroline these days, she'd always inform me on anything; any hairstyle changes or holiday plans, I guess it was kind of stalkerish behavior really - but it made me feel better. Today, Rebecca had unwillingly given me a very important piece of information; Caroline had said she was going out to some bar near the coast tonight but hadn't given her very much information; something which meant it was worth checking out. Therefore; it just so happens that I mentioned to Elijah that it would be nice if we met for a drink and a catch up in that very same bar... I just needed to see her, and this was my way.

I made my way down to the parking lot and climbed into my car; I felt excitement and anticipation flow through me, bloody hell I missed her.

**Caroline's POV**

I strode into the bar, and the first thing I noticed was that it was a complete dump, and a total Tyler type of bar. I'd spent many nights in places like this when he and I had been dating and I had to admit, I didn't miss it. I looked up and saw Tyler waving over at me from a snooker table, he was inviting me to join in, I smiled and made my over.

Great, I hated snooker.

"Hey babe, so great to see you." He said quickly before giving me a brief kiss on the cheek and turning back to the game.

"Hey." I replied, stunned by his rudeness. Across the table I caught sight of Matt looking very uncomfortable.

"Oh hey Matt; what are you doing here?" I inquired confused as to why he was here when Tyler and I were supposed to be on a date.

"Oh, um…well Tyler invited me here to play snooker with him." Matt responded looking gradually more embarrassed as time passed.

"Oh, well it's nice to see you Matt; I haven't seen you in ages!" I said enthusiastically whilst fuming inwardly at Tyler – Seriously, he and I were here on a date yet he invited my ex-boyfriend too?! So not cool…

"Can I speak to you for a moment Tyler?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah sure…" He replied as he prepared to take another shot.

"In private." I said bitchily; he was beginning to really piss me off – considering he was the one who wanted us back together he sure as hell wasn't acting like it.

"Oh okay." He said confused, but he followed me over to the corner where we came to an abrupt halt.

"What's the matter Care? Why are you acting all psycho?" He asked concerned, something which in my eyes just added smoke to the fire, he didn't even realize why I was pissed.

"Why the hell did you invite Matt here?! " I exclaimed exasperated.

"I thought he might want to hang out with us?" Tyler said quietly looking down at the floor, and paying literally no attention to me in the slightest.

"So you thought we could go on a date and Matt could just hang out with us? Tyler I thought we were going to talk about what happened and maybe get back together?" I responded, it became apparent to me that he obviously had no intention of us getting back together as a couple.

"Oh, well I thought we were already back together babe?" He said cockily, something that made me seriously mad – he just assumed that we were a couple again when we hadn't even had a chance to talk. I was still mad about how he had just jumped to a conclusion with the whole Klaus naked thing.

"You're unbelievable!" I exclaimed, averting my gaze from his face in frustration. I stared around at the bar attempting to get my temper in check; and then I caught sight of something:

Klaus.

As our eyes made contact I saw a small smile appear on his features; but I saw it promptly drop when he saw that Tyler was here beside me. I promptly took a step back from Tyler, not wanting to give Klaus the wrong idea about what was going on in this corner between Tyler and me.

"You know what babe; you keep changing your feelings over and over again. One minute you want me, the next you're all over some naked guy and now you're making eyes at that very same guy across the bar. Our relationship never really was much; you always talked too much for my liking, so why don't we just be friends with benefits, we always had really great sex and it'll be a perfect outlet for both you and I to blow off some steam?" Tyler inquired in a dead serious tone. I felt a shocked laugh escape me at his speech. Had he seriously said that I just talked too much and that our relationship wasn't much of a relationship? What an asshole, and there was no way in hell I was going to let him get away with something like that. I raised my hand quickly and spread my palm before promptly slapping Tyler hard around the face, putting all my anger into that one motion.

"You're a piece of shit Tyler; I never want to see you again!" I exclaimed furious, as I looked around the whole of the bar turned to stare at the scene we were making. I turned back to Tyler and saw that his face had turned the color of a beetroot. He gripped my wrist tightly and pulled me close to him before speaking viciously to me.

"You always were too much of a drama queen for me Forbes, why did you have to go and make a scene you stupid bitch!" He shouted though attempted to be quiet.

"Ow, Tyler you're hurting me; please let go." I muttered out as I grimaced at his tight grip; however he didn't release me.

"I think you heard her; let her go mate – before I have to make you." I heard a smooth English voice behind me: Klaus. I felt a shiver run through my body in reaction to his silky voice, I could picture his face in my mind but I couldn't turn around to face him.

"Don't threaten me dick." Tyler spat back, before releasing his grip and pushing me forcefully back towards Klaus who caught me efficiently.

"You can have her mate; she's no good to anyone." Tyler said nastily before throwing down the snooker cue in his other hand and storming away.

"Are you alright love?" Klaus inquired as he turned me around to face him; I could see the concern in his bright blue eyes and it was so overwhelming. I hadn't seen this man in a long time and here he was, this couldn't be a coincidence.

"Please Klaus, just leave me alone; my feelings haven't changed – I don't want to see you." I said hastily before turning and quite literally running from the bar. The events of tonight had been disastrous and I just wanted to go home. I threw open my car door and climbed in before breaking all speed limits in my attempt to get home.

I opened my apartment door, threw off my clothes, tugged on my pajamas and climbed into bed. I pulled the bed covers up over my head and I couldn't help myself; I began to cry.

Tonight had been such a mess; Tyler had turned out to be the bastard that I always knew he was, I didn't even know why I bothered to go. But even worse than that seeing Klaus had awoken a whole load of feelings within me; at least when I didn't see him I could try and convince myself that he meant nothing to me. However tonight, with him in front of me I knew I couldn't kid myself any longer; I missed him like crazy, and life was shit without him – and ultimately I knew that all my dates would turn out like that because there was only one person I was interested in dating, and it was him.

I pictured him once again in my head; he'd looked so good tonight, he'd appeared so much smarter. He'd skipped shaving for a couple of days and he had a small growth of stubble on his face; I could almost imagine what his face would feel like between my palms. His blue eyes had seemed so much clearer; I guess that must have been the fact that he was completely drug free and awake. I couldn't believe what I'd done, I regretted everything – He had come over to help me and I'd just pushed him away. I had the opportunity to speak to him, to get to know him again, to forgive him. Now I guess it was me who was afraid of living; I was scared to let him back into my life because now I understood what he meant to me and I couldn't risk a broken heart.

No matter how much I tried to convince myself, I knew I'd just ruined any chance of a relationship with the only man I could ever see myself with.

**Klaus's POV**

I was furious; I was beyond furious. Now at least I knew why Caroline had kept the details quiet when telling Rebecca about tonight – it was because she was on a date with Tyler, the idea just made me want to spit. He treated her like absolute shit, just dumped her and there she was giving him another chance. Well, why could she give him another chance and not me? I was pissed beyond belief – when I saw her there with Tyler I was determined to make her pay, to show her she was nothing to me. Yet when I saw Tyler hurting her, my basic instinct to protect her kicked in. Despite that she treated me like shit anyway.

Well that was it.

No more nice Klaus.

I'd gotten clean for her, tried to do everything possible to prove to her that I was worthy yet she just ignored me. Well it was obvious I could never win her favor; in that case I guess I would just have to get revenge; for all the havoc she'd wreaked on my heart and all the time I'd wasted trying to show her I was worthy.

**Caroline's POV**

Morning came around way too fast for my liking; I rolled over slowly and turned off my beeping alarm clock. I tugged by body from my ever so comfy bed and made my way into the bathroom where I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Oh god, I looked like shit.

The crying had definitely done me no favors; my face was red and puffy, I could attempt to cover myself with makeup but I'd still look shitty.

Great.

Today was not the day for me to look awful; Katherine had finally been fired just over a week ago, and her replacement was starting today. I was eager to make a good impression. I had always been hated by Katherine, forever given the awful jobs, and I wanted that to change. Therefore, it made sense that I got on the right side of my new boss right from the get go.

I jumped into the shower and turned it up to the warmest setting; I needed to shock myself awake; I refused to be late today – good impressions and all…

I scrubbed my body all over, rapidly lathered the shampoo in my hair and rinsed it off. I clambered out the shower and toweled myself dry. I blow dried my hair upside down for ultimate volume and perfect curls, I then pulled out my favorite skirt from the wardrobe and paired it with an expensive blouse reserved for occasions such as this. I then grabbed the most impressive pair of heels that I owned and the matching bag; once the outfit was complete I looked in the mirror and gave a sigh of satisfaction; I looked good.

If my new boss was a man, well my appearance would definitely do me a favor; just enough leg and neckline on show. On the other hand, if the new boss was a woman I had dressed myself in my favorite designers, a perfect talking point…

I smiled in satisfaction before grabbing something to eat, brushing my teeth and running down to the car; I leapt into the seat, started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot just as my phone began to ring.

"Hey Elena" I exclaimed as I answered the phone.

"Care, please tell me you're on your way to work now?" She inquired worried.

"Yes 'Lena, relax I'm going to be on time, I'm all ready to make a new impression on the boss!" I responded, proud that I was on time for once.

"Care; you're already 45 minutes late, the new boss is going crazy he's waiting to start some kind of welcome meeting but he doesn't want to start without you!" She shouted like a crazy person.

"Elena, I'm not late, it's only 7:45!" I responded defensively.

"Oh Caroline you idiot!"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"The clocks have gone forward; it's actually 8:45!" She said exasperated.

"OHMYGOD NO!" I shrieked, putting my foot down on the accelerator.

"I'm going to be like five minutes, please please please apologize to the boss like a hundred times for me!" I continued, I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been; there goes making a good impression on the new boss.

"I will Care, but for god sake hurry!" Elena exclaimed before hanging up.

I once again broke all speed limits possible and pulled into the car park two minutes later; I cut the engine, tossed my phone into my bag, locked the car and practically ran into the office. I ran up the stairs two at a time and by the time I reached the meeting room my face was as red as a tomato and the sweat was dripping off me.

"Ohmygod! I am so _so _sorry I'm late!" I exclaimed as I looked up to face the new boss.

Oh god no.

"Ah, Miss Forbes better late than never; I love the look by the way… not many can pull off the sweaty look; perhaps you should go back home and take a shower, after all it is us who have to share the office with you." The sharp voice said scathingly and laughs aimed at me erupted around the room.

"Oh…um…well…" I found myself speechless staring at the man.

"Lost for words? Well you can call me Klaus love; Klaus Mikaelson. I'm your new boss."

"Oh shit." I muttered accidently , as I stared at Klaus standing before me with an evil expression on his face. A smirk travelled around the rest of the workers as they stared bitchily at my shitty appearance and took pleasure in the fact that the new boss obviously hated me.

Oh god; Klaus was my boss – and he was going to make my life miserable…

**Hi!  
Thanks for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter; please continue to read, review and follow.  
**


	6. Conflict

**Caroline's POV**

"So Miss Forbes do you have anything to contribute to this meeting?" Klaus inquired, pouncing on me yet again, trying his best to embarrass me and make me look stupid; well I had to say it was working.

"Um...well, I thought maybe if we put in a spiral staircase on the left rather than on the right more sunlight would be released into the hallway and then they could save on things like the cost of electricity." I said pleasantly and calmly, trying my best to keep my cool and not rise to the bait.

"Well that would have been a good idea but sadly you have failed to notice that we are dealing with Billionaires Miss Forbes, the last thing they care about is electricity cost so the staircase will stay exactly where it is. Meanwhile, I think it's about time you left this meeting you clearly have nothing decent to contribute and should spend this time actually reading up about the client so embarrassing moments like this don't happen again. You are dismissed." Klaus said cuttingly, and turned away from me rapidly and began talking about something else which I couldn't quite hear through the sound of my blood boiling. Did he think he could treat me like this just because I may or may not have hurt his feelings? He was acting like he was the teacher and I was some stupid school child; and whether he was my boss or not I was not going to stand it.

"Why are you acting like such a dick?" I asked, speaking loudly, clearly and interrupting the meeting. I heard people gasping at my outburst and I saw a smirk beginning to form on Klaus's features.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Miss Forbes; if me, as your boss, telling you that your ideas are completely ridiculous is being a dick then yes I guess I am. However, you thinking I'm a dick indicates to me that you have some problem with my authority or that you expect some kind of special treatment that you are clearly not going to receive from me love. You may be head of the design department, but I am still your boss and I can, whenever and if ever I choose, demote you or remove you from your position. So next time love, when you are thinking I'm acting like a dick - I strongly suggest you keep it to yourself." He replied coolly, a steely glint in his eyes causing me to shiver at the hate I found in them.

"Um, okay...sorry." I stuttered out, once again finding myself being bettered by Klaus.

"Sorry what?" He asked with an evil smirk.

"Sorry Klaus, Mr Mikaelson, Boss; whatever you want me to call you. It seems I'm officially your bitch so I'll do whatever the hell you want _Mr Mikaelson._" I spat out in a mock sincere tone before turning on my heel and making my way back to my desk; I needed to talk to Rebecca ASAP.

"Caroline!" I heard Klaus's voice shout at me down the corridor.

"Caroline!" He shouted again; I could hear the anger rising in his tone.

"Oh piss of you British bastard!" I shouted back in fury, before grabbing my bag and running out of the office, but not before flipping him the finger as I dashed past the meeting room.

I leapt into my car and was driving before I even knew where I was going.

**Klaus's POV**

I wrapped up the meeting pretty fast; I think it's safe to say that everyone in the office was buzzing about the run in that the new boss had with Caroline Forbes; I'm not going to lie, it was embarrassing for the both of us, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that I had the upper hand. Everyone in the office seems surprised that we have taken such a hate to one another, but I guess that is because they don't know our history. I couldn't help but feel a small bit of guilt to the way I'd treated Caroline; but she'd hurt me and I wanted to make her hurt the same way she had hurt me. Seeing her this morning had been hard, and I'd taken that out on her. I wasn't even mad that she was late for work, that was typical Caroline and I expected nothing less from her - yet somehow I just felt this overbearing need to ridicule her at every given opportunity. She probably was right; it was probably due to the British bastard within me.

I began to laugh to myself in the office as I pictured her furious face and her gestures as she dashed past the meeting room. She really was hilarious, and when she was angry it was just so entertaining; I guess I had many moments just like that to look forward to.

**Caroline's POV**

"Your brother is a complete asshole!" I exclaimed to Rebecca as we both rapidly dug into a pot of Ben and Jerry's she had retrieved from the freezer in an attempt to make me feel better.

"Tell me about it - which one? There are 4 to choose from..." She replied with a laugh, I promptly gave her a kick under the table as she made light of the situation.

"You could have at least warned me Bex; when I went into work this morning I'm sure I quite literally had a heart attack when I saw Klaus standing there, and now he is just determined to ruin my life! He hates me!" I moaned as I stuck another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth.

"I told you Caroline, I'm neutral ground; I love both you and Klaus therefore I couldn't tell you because that would have meant betraying my brother. But if it makes you feel any better I begged and begged him not to take the job, he just didn't listen. And as for him hating you, you're being completely stupid; my brother has done nothing but think about you since the day he met you, he is quite literally obsessed Caroline. I guess you hurt him and now he wants to get even; it's the way Niklaus works..." Rebecca said shaking her head at her brothers messed up logic.

"Well he just makes me so mad! Does he really have to do it at work, and make me look like a fool in front of all my work colleagues? I get it, I ignored him, I cut him out of my life and he hates me for it; but couldn't he just make me pay in some other less messed up way?!" I continued, digging my hole of self-pity even deeper.

"I'm sorry Care, there's nothing you can do about it, you're just going to have to suck it up and give as good as you get. I don't think he would ever fire you, so I think you're pretty free to get as pissy as you like with him." She said with an evil smile.

"Oh don't you worry about that Bex; your brother may be boss but I can still stand up to him, let's just say I'm not the only one who was embarrassed today." I said proudly, but feeling extremely immature as I congratulated myself on an argument with a guy who was hell bent on ruining my life.

"What do I do now Becca?" I inquired, quite literally lost for thoughts.

"You finish up your ice cream, your re-apply your makeup and you go back to work and act like nothing ever happened. It will be good for your reputation, and it will drive Nik crazy with the fact that you aren't too embarrassed to show your face again today." She replied wisely, and I nodded at her logic - I just had to show Klaus that I wasn't affected by anything that he did, then he would just eventually get bored and stop... well I hoped he would anyway...

"You really are the best friend ever!" I said quickly before giving her a quick hug and making my way to the door.

I arrived back at work with a huge smile plastered on my face and acted like nothing in the world was troubling me; as I passed Klaus's office on the way to my desk I smiled at him sweetly and waved before sitting down in my chair. I saw him follow me out and come towards my desk.

"Caroline, I-" He began to speak, but I cut him off.

"Sorry, I just wanted to say something first and I want everyone to listen." I said loudly so the entire office turned to look in our direction, I turned back to Klaus and I saw that his face had paled and he was obviously concerned about what I was about to say.

"I just wanted to let everyone here know, and our new boss Mr Mikaelson, that I definitely do not think he is a British bastard; I want to say that I'm sorry and I think he is going to do wonderful things for this company, I also wanted to apologize for that gesture that I flipped at him earlier, it was wrong and I totally regret it." I said sweetly, whilst gritting my teeth and not meaning a word. I figured the best way to play this game was to kill him with kindness, and not give him a reason to pick on me at every opportunity.

"Well, umm... Miss Forbes that was very kind of you; for now we can pretend that it never happened. - However I would like to see you in my office at lunch okay? You've all done great work, now please Caroline and I will disturb you no longer..." He replied his face like thunder, before turning and making his way back to his office; where I saw him sit in his chair with a conflicted expression on his face.

"Sucker..." I muttered, and couldn't help the huge smile that broke across my face at my success, I then went back to the designs for my clients - I was positive it was going to be the best one yet.

**Klaus's POV**

I couldn't decide what game Caroline was playing, but if one thing was certain I'd definitely played into her hand - everyone in the office now looked to Caroline and respected her for the apology that she'd allegedly so kindly addressed to me, this now put me in a bad light if I continued to treat her like shit. This therefore put me in a bad situation; I'd have to work on a new plan to make her suffer.

I shook off the thoughts and set back to work; but not before reading a message I received from Rebecca:

_Nik, stop being an asshole to Caroline._

That was all she had written, blunt and straight to the point. I felt a smirk began to form on my features; it seems Caroline had reported to Rebecca how miserable she was already; and well... that meant my plan was working...

**Caroline's POV**

I looked down at my watch and put down my pencil as I realized lunch break had arrived and it was time for my 'meeting' with Klaus, I felt my palms begin to sweat slightly in my discomfort; I wiped them down my skirt quickly before beginning to make my way towards his office. Across the room I saw Elena mouth 'Good luck' at me, I laughed, because she really didn't know how much I needed it.

I reached the door and tapped on it a few times, before I heard Klaus say a brief 'come in'; I walked in my expression guarded and sat down at the chair in front of his desk.

"So, Miss Forbes, I think there are a few things you and I need to address." He said with a clipped tone; one that made me shudder at the coldness and bitterness that it was laced with.

"Yes." I replied tight lipped, once again not wanting to play his game.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't undermine and embarrass me in front of my staff." Klaus said simply, his voice cold.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't embarrass me in front of my friends." I responded, mimicking his tone.

We stared one anther down for a moment or two, before he spoke again.

"Due to your obvious lack of ideas and respect, I'm removing you from your current case and handing the job over to Elena. I have noticed that I cannot trust you with such high profile clients; especially when it is obvious you cannot control your emotions and what you say." He said, his words striking me harder than any blow ever could.

"You're removing me?! You don't understand, this is my biggest design job yet! I need this for my CV; I have no chance of eventually running my own design crew if I have no experience with multimillion dollar designs!" I exclaimed, feeling myself tear up; I couldn't believe that Klaus would mess with me like this.

"I'm your boss and sadly I cannot trust you, therefore you are removed from the job. You will destroy any designs and plans you have drawn up and pass the job over to Elena who will begin on it right away."

"NO, no Klaus; please just have a look at my designs, they're really good and completed; I've been working on them for weeks, I promise that you will approve. They're good and I know it!" I continued, quite literally begging before him; something which I imagined he was enjoying immensely.

"Enough Caroline; I have made my decision and we will speak of this no longer. Now please leave." He said sharply before turning away and looking back at some papers on his desk. I got up, my legs shaking slightly in both shock and fury; I walked over towards the door slowly but my anger got the best of me.

I couldn't help myself, whilst he was preoccupied with some paperwork I pulled down the blinds so no one could see what was happening, then I removed the clock from the wall and hurled it at him, he looked up just in time for it to smack him straight in the face. It bounced and hit the floor; I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me as I looked at his shocked face and admittedly the nose bleed that was just beginning to start.

"Oops; I must have slipped." I said with the most sincere expression I could muster.

I saw his face begin to redden, the veins in his forehead becoming more prominent. I knew that I'd overstepped the mark; he may even fire me. I frowned as I watched the blood from his nose begin to increase and it dripped all over the paperwork that lay before me; he was still too shocked to speak, but as he looked up I saw that his nose was slightly crooked.

Ohmygod, I'd broken his nose.

"GET OUT!" He bellowed as he hurriedly searched through his desk in an attempt to find a tissue. He may have just fired me from my biggest case ever, but I'd just broken his nose and I was feeling extremely guilty. The part inside of me that cared for Klaus was just yearning to go and help him.

I paced over towards him and his eyes formed into angry slits as I approached.

"I thought I told you to leave." He managed to splutter out through the blood that was pooling on his face.

"I know you did; I just chose to ignore you." I said quickly as I grabbed the small first aid kit I carried around in my handbag. My dad had always drilled into me the idea that safety came first; therefore I always had it on me.

"I don't want your help Caroline; just be thankful that I'm not firing you and get the bloody hell out of my office." He said once more, but with less force.

"Klaus, I'm sorry - let me just help you, you're bleeding everywhere." I said honestly, as I hoisted myself up onto his desk so he was positioned on his chair between my legs.

"Well love; if you hadn't hurled that clock at me in the first place, I wouldn't be bleeding everywhere." He replied in a halfhearted attempt to be mean.

"Yeah, yeah; what is done is done, now please shut up and let me sort this out." I responded, he did as I said and I set to work.

I pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back slightly, the blood flow continued rapidly - I grabbed a wad of tissue and pressed it tightly to his nose. To be honest there wasn't really anything I could do about this, he needed to go to hospital to get his nose re-set otherwise his pretty face would be ruined.

"Put your jacket on, I'm driving you to the hospital." I said sharply, before jumping off the desk and grabbing his jacket of the hook and handing it to him.

"I can just go myself." He said simply.

"Oh I'm coming Klaus; not because I care about you, but because I care about not getting fired. Believe me, come tomorrow we are enemies again. - Unless you want to give me my billion dollar clients back again?" I inquired as we made our way through reception and towards my car; luckily no one saw us as they were all out on lunch.

"No chance love; especially not after that stunt you just pulled." He responded; just how I knew he would.

We pulled up at the hospital, I parked and we made our way in; we went to reception and Klaus was added to the waiting list. We made our way over to the waiting area but a nurse caught us on our way.

"I'm sorry ma'am, only family are allowed today as the hospital is very busy." She said simply as she gestured around to the thousands of people milling around us.

"Oh…um… yeah; I'm his wife." I said after a short delay, the nurse raised an eyebrow in suspicion before turning to Klaus.

"Sir, is this your wife?" She inquired, obviously not believing me.

"She sure is, I found myself the most gorgeous woman I could find and married her. Sadly, I didn't realize how mean she got when she was angry." He said with a laugh as he gestured to his nose; the nurses eyes widened in shock and she turned and gave me a dirty look before turning back to Klaus.

"You should get a divorce." She said simply, placing a hand on his arm and giving him a sympathetic look before turning away.

"Ohmygod Klaus, you are so full of shit! You just made me look like a complete monster" I exclaimed as she left.

"Well love, I think it was you who lied first and you are a monster; you did break my nose after all." He said with a smirk.

"yeah, yeah…" I replied; however I did know that he was right, I did lie first and I did break his nose.

We sat down in our seats in the waiting room in silence, and that was how things remained until we were called into a cubicle.

"So, Mr Mikaelson – what seems to be the problem..?" The doctor inquired as he stared down at his notes, he then looked up and saw Klaus's current predicament.

"Ah, a broken nose; that can be fixed up in no time." He said as he quickly grabbed a needle of pain relief from the side.

"Um; I don't think you should use that – Klaus is an ex drug addict." I added before the doctor had a chance to inject him; Morphine was a stronger version of Heroin, and I knew that it wasn't worth taking a chance with Klaus.

"Oh, well I'll just fetch some numbing cream instead then." The doctor said a bit flustered; before exiting the cubicle.

"Why did you have to tell him that!?" Klaus exclaimed annoyed, as he turned to look at me.

"I didn't want to risk you getting addicted again Klaus, I've read about this stuff, it's easy to get hooked again." I replied, trying my best to defend my actions.

"So you don't trust me; I got clean for you Caroline and you don't trust me!" He shouted his voice laced with anger. I backed away from him rapidly, his nose bleed had started again and I figured it was my fault.

"Klaus I do trust you, but we can't take the risk of you getting addicted again." I said quietly; knowing that these curtains didn't contain any sound, and everyone outside in the waiting room could hear every word.

"What do you mean by _we_ Caroline?! You abandoned me when I needed you the most; yes I relapsed and it was stupid of me, but you just cut me out of your life! You have absolutely no idea how hard it was to get clean; I thought that you were going to be there for me but you weren't and now you suddenly think that it's partly your responsibility to keep me clean. – well bloody hell love, you can keep your nose out of my business!" He roared, I nodded my head in understanding; every word he said was true and I knew it, I'd known it for the past 5 months when I pretended I'd done the right thing.

"I'm sorry Klaus." I muttered.

"I don't care if you're sorry Caroline, I just want you to leave!" He exclaimed.

"Bu-" I started to speak, but he cut me off.

"GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT! LEAVE JUST LIKE YOU DID WHEN I NEEDED YOU! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE! " He shouted and I jumped back, stung by his words. I turned and left; I walked through the waiting room and saw all eyes on me.

At least now I knew how Klaus really felt, he'd said that he resented the fact that I'd abandoned him when he needed me most; which I knew was true. I could tell that he resented me for it and that was why he was treating me like shit. Not only had I abandoned him, but now I'd also broken his nose and yet again said the wrong thing and not trusted him.

Oh god; work tomorrow was going to be hell…

**Hi!  
Thanks for all of the lovely reviews on the previous chapter, it's so great to hear from you all, and as you can see your reviews encouraged me to write another chapter!  
Please continue to read, review and follow. **

**Thanks :D**


	7. Throwing the towel in

**Caroline's POV**

I'd decided now that Klaus had gone way _way _too far. For the first two weeks since the incident at the hospital Klaus continued to ridicule me and belittle me in every way possible, however I just ignored him and it seems that he grew bored of that. In the past week since then he has just taken to ignoring me completely; addressing everyone but me, never looking at me and generally pretending that I wasn't there.

I was once again stuck at my desk doing old pieces of paper work and sorting out the filing; this was due to the fact that Klaus hadn't given me any new clients, he said there weren't any and therefore I would just have to do some general jobs that needed done. This basically meant me being his new secretary, and believe me, it made me mad. I'd been working as a designer since I was fresh out of college and I'd built a lot of skills; I knew I was good and my skills were going to waste.

I knew that now was the time to confront Klaus; it was Thursday night and I looked around the office to discover I was the only one left. I tidied up and stored away the last few items before rising from my chair and making my way towards Klaus's office; I felt myself trembling slightly, what I was about to do was a big move and I was scared.

I knocked on the door a few times before opening it; Klaus looked up from his desk and his expression rapidly darkened. I wasn't going to let that stop me though.

"What do you want Caroline; I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now." He muttered, before looking back down at his work. - Something which made me utterly furious, he couldn't even give me two minutes of his time after everything that I had done for him.

"Klaus, we need to talk." I insisted, before pacing meaningfully towards his desk and staring at him.

"Okay Caroline, let's talk love." He said in a sarcastic tone before leaning forward in his chair so his face was level with mine.

"I'm sick of working here Klaus, with you spending your time either ridiculing me, treating me like a fool or completely ignoring me. You seem to think that you have some right to treat me like absolute shit, you make out like I have done things so bad to you that you need to get even or get revenge - well to be honest you're just acting like a completely unjustified child. I didn't have to help you on the bridge that day Klaus, I didn't have to take you into my home and provide for you. I bought you clothes, food and didn't' even get mad when you stole my money! I didn't turn you away when I found out you were a drug addict, I found you help Klaus; I visited you practically every single day that you spent in rehab; I spent my days worrying about you and wishing you better. But you...ugh you make me so mad... you just threw it right back in my face. Yes, me cutting you from my life when you relapsed may have been a harsh decision Klaus, but it was the right one. - I know this now; you needed to get clean for yourself and no-one else, you needed to learn that you were independent and could help yourself. Everything that I did, time and time again has been for you. And now, I'm done playing this game Klaus - I quit." I said in a calm and indifferent voice; trying to act like I was just saying it to the mirror, just like the many times that I'd practiced.

"What?" He inquired; the smirk quickly falling from his face and one of worry suddenly replacing it.

"I quit, I'm done, I'm throwing the towel in, I'm blowing this joint. However the hell else I can say it, I'm leaving Klaus; congratulations you've finally got even, got the revenge you so desperately wanted. - You've ruined my career with this company and made me miserable, I hope to hell that you're satisfied, because believe me you are getting no more satisfaction from me!" I shouted, my voice becoming uneven as I could no longer keep my composure. I then practically ran back to my desk where I grabbed my bag and the box of my things that I had gathered during the day.

I then strode confidently from the office and didn't even look back; it was for the best, I was sick of coming to work feeling guilty and worried.

I was done.

But now I just kept asking myself: What's next?

Well... I guess job hunting is next...

**Klaus's POV**

I couldn't quite believe it as I sat and watched Caroline walk straight out of the office - She'd quit her job because I'd really made her feel that miserable.

Did I feel good now that I'd gotten the revenge that I seeked?

No.

For some reason I just felt empty and stupid; I may have quite literally ruined her career and I'd spent the last few weeks terrorizing her without giving a thought to the consequences. I thought this was what I wanted; to make Caroline suffer. - But now I realized that it wasn't; now I felt even worse, but it was too late now, she was gone.

I debated whether I should chase her down and apologize; maybe even beg her to come back to the company, but I doubted she would - if I knew anything about her it was the fact that she was a stubborn woman and wouldn't go back on her word.

I thought about everything that she had said, and I realized how true it was. She had saved my life, she had taken me in when there was no-one else, she didn't throw me out when she found out about the money and the drugs, and she had supported me throughout rehab. I could even see now that her cutting me from her life after the relapse was what I needed; I needed to be able to stand on my own two feet, I needed a reason and the motivation to get clean, and that was exactly what she had given me. I pushed my chair back from the table and sat back, exhaling.

Bloody hell I'd screwed up.

The first thing I knew that I needed to do was call Rebecca and tell her everything that had happened; she'd know what to do. And to be honest, I'd rather tell Rebecca myself what happened and have her angry at me now, than Caroline telling her later on; which I knew she would. I gave a sigh before plucking my mobile phone from the desk, keying in her number and pressing dial.

"Nik." She answered on the first ring, her voice strained; I knew she was pissed at me because of the way I'd been treating Caroline.

"Becca; something's happened sweetheart." I said quickly, becoming rapidly anxious; I knew she was going to be furious when I told her I'd caused Caroline to quit her job.

"Have anything to do with Caroline by any chance?" She responded; her voice beginning to sound slightly hateful now.

"Um yes; how did you guess?" I inquired puzzled as to how she'd managed to figure it out so quickly.

"Well Niklaus; probably because she's curled up on my couch right now eating ice-cream and crying her eyes out over the fact she has no job and feels like shit because of you." She spat at me.

"Becca, Becca, I'm sorry okay - I was a jerk to Caroline and I understand that, but I didn't fire her, she made that decision herself." I said trying to make my role in this seem not quite as awful.

"That's absolute bullshit Nik; you drove her to this. You'd better go and stay at mothers tonight, because Caroline is going to stay here and I don't want you coming home and making matters worse." Rebecca insisted, and I was tempted to argue that it was my home too, but then I realized I'd better not because this really was my doing and also because I really didn't feel like facing my sisters wrath right now; she could be very mean when she wanted...

"Okay Becca." I said simply, before hanging up the phone.

I slung my phone back on the desk and cupped my head in my hands; I really had screwed up – I couldn't face going home, because mother and Elijah would want to know why I needed to stay with them. That then meant that I would have to explain to them how I terrorized the woman who saved my life so much that she quit her job, and she is now back at Becca and mine's apartment crying her eyes out over her ruined career with a company she'd been at since college.

Woah, I really was an asshole.

I figured I could go and stay at a hotel or something; but that required way more effort than I wanted to put in, so I figured tonight I would be sleeping right here at my desk. There was nothing else to do so I thought I'd just get down to the mountain of paper work that was piling up.

I knew when I got this job it was going to be hard, but I wanted it so much, mainly because it gave me all access to Caroline. Before I'd changed my career path and became a painter I'd had my own refurbishment business; therefore it had just been so convenient that Caroline worked in a refurbishment company that needed a new boss. My family are very powerful; notorious for our money, therefore it had taken little persuasion when I was speaking to the board for them to give me the job. – little did they know my intentions were not genuine. I'd probably gone and lost them their very best designer, yet they didn't know and most likely didn't care.

**Caroline's POV**

I was officially done crying; it was ridiculous, I'd been sitting here for hours with Rebecca by my side just keeping me company whilst I cried my eyes out. I was a grown woman; and there were plenty more jobs around, I had a good CV and who knows, I might just find a better job than the one I used to have.

"Becca, this is stupid – I literally cannot cry anymore, it's not worth it." I muttered through the tears that just seemed to keep coming.

"I think we need something to take our mind off today's disasters." She said with a smile, and I immediately knew what was coming.

"Rom-Com fest!" we both exclaimed at the same time, whilst leaping from the couch and over to her very large DVD collection.

"Ohmygod, this is so hard to decide – Dear John or Safe Haven?!" Becca asked conflicted.

"Both! But let's start with Dear John, because Channing Tatum is simply gorgeous and what I need to take my mind off everything!" I said enthusiastically. Becca pulled out the disk and pushed it into the DVD player, before grabbing a blanket to put over us, we both giggled like two teenage girls as we waited in excitement for the movie to start.

"Care, you really are my best friend, I don't know what the hell I would do without you – and I'm so sorry my brother is such an asshole." Rebecca turned to me and said completely sincerely. I couldn't help myself I promptly burst into laughter and pulled her into a hug, because thinking about it now she was probably my best friend too – I mean, where were Elena and Bonnie right now?

**Klaus's POV**

"Klaus, I need to talk to you!" Elena exclaimed, promptly waking me from my sleep; I raised my head from my desk and I gave her a sheepish look, ashamed that she'd caught me sleeping here.

"What is it?" I asked, but not really caring; it was too early in the morning to be dealing with Elena Gilbert; I swear she made such a big deal out of everything – it was bloody annoying.

"I can't take the case anymore." She said simply, I felt my face darken as I listened to her speak.

"I gave you a chance in a life time Miss Gilbert; I gave you the multi-million dollar clients and now you're throwing them back in my face?!" I exclaimed angrily; Caroline had quite literally begged me for those clients and here Elena was giving them straight back to me.

"No, you don't understand; I do want this case, but the clients hate my designs! – They say they want Caroline back, and if she doesn't they are going to find another company to do the work from them!" She said in a rush, her face blushing from the embarrassment of being rejected by these people.

"Thank you Elena, you're officially removed from the case; you may leave." I said calmly, whilst inside I was panicking. Caroline had just quit and now all these clients wanted was her – bloody hell this was my entire fault.

I knew if these clients left and went elsewhere it would reflect badly on this company, and me; and considering I just got back into work I didn't want to be fired at this particular moment.

"Actually wait, Elena come back!" I shouted, quickly opening my office door and catching up with her.

"You're acting head of this company; I needed to make a quick trip out – I don't know how long I will be, please keep everything under control." I said sincerely, before grabbing my jacket and making my way out of the office before she had a chance to quiz me on where I was going.

To find Caroline.

I leapt into the car and started the ignition; I hoped like hell that she was still at my apartment, because that was where I was headed. I pulled the car up in the parking lot and rushed up the stairs, shoved the key into the lock and swung the door open. I paced through into the living room to find complete and utter chaos.

It was absolutely and completely trashed. Empty Vodka and Tequila bottles lay everywhere, sweet wrappers, popcorn bags and DVD cases decorated the room. There were even a few pillows that were burst open leaving a trail of feathers everywhere. As I walked further in I discovered Becca and Caroline fast asleep on the couch covered in what looked like the most horrific make up I'd ever seen. I couldn't help the laugh which exploded from me and they both jerked rapidly awake.

"Nik?"

"Klaus?"

They both sat up suddenly, their faces turning an intense shade of red which made me laugh even harder.

"I love the new look." I said to both of them.

"It's called blindfolded makeovers brother, I'm sure you and Kol must have played it once or twice! Now what the hell are you doing here?" She replied both sarcastically and meanly at the same time.

"I need to speak to Caroline, it's very important." I insisted, turning my gaze to Caroline and attempting to beg her with my eyes. She quickly averted her gaze.

"Anything you want to say to Caroline can be said with me here." She said stubbornly; seriously, what was it with girls teaming up all the time?

"Okay; Caroline – I made a huge, massive, stupid, asshole mistake; I really _really_ need you back at the company love. The clients I gave to Elena hate her designs and insist that they want only you!" I exclaimed, however her face still remained indifferent.

"I'm not coming back Klaus." She said simply, before promptly looking away again.

"Caroline, don't be stubborn! This is what you wanted remember? The multi-million dollar clients; you said you needed them!" I continued, but from the look on her face I knew she wasn't going to change her mind.

"No." She responded once more, before getting up and making her way into the bathroom, I turned and followed her rapidly, going so far as going into the bathroom with her.

"Klaus, _go away." _She insisted, crossing her arms and giving me a stern look.

"No." I continued, before turning and locking the bathroom door; Rebecca could stand outside and bang on the door as much as she wanted, but it wasn't opening.

"I told you Klaus, I want nothing from you – I quit my job just to get away from you!" She continued, her voice rising in anger and frustration.

"I hope you realize sweetheart, that in your attempt to get away from me you've ruined the second chance you've been given; you could have your job and your clients back, but you're refusing just because I'm asking. Cutting your nose of to spite your face, I believe the saying is."

"I hope you're happy love, because you got what you wanted. Why do you and I have to be like this; I know I drove you away, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, ignoring you, embarrassing you, blaming you for everything. However, if you can't even accept this offer of your old job back, then it's you who is being ridiculous, it is you that can't forget the past and move on. And that, well that just makes me sad love."

"Fine." She replied tight lipped.

I turned away shaking my head in disappointment, I opened the door to the bathroom paced through the hall, past my sister and out of the apartment; at least I'd tried.

**Caroline's POV**

I came out of the bathroom to be confronted by a very angry looking Rebecca.

"I understand that you're sad and angry Caroline; but seriously you turned down the offer of a job and your dream clients? This stupid pissing contest or whatever it is between you and Klaus has got to stop. I see the way you look at him and I see the way he looks at you; you may not notice, but I know what's really going on. Now stop with all your stupid petty arguments towards one another and tell me honestly, right now, how you really feel about my brother!" She exclaimed stubbornly.

"I… well…um… The time I spent with your brother before all of this happened was great, I enjoyed his company and friendship, and I always thought there would be potential for more between us…" I stuttered out, my cheeks reddening, because after all, I was talking about her brother…

"And do you want that friendship and potential for more back?" She continued.

"Well..umm… I don't know? Maybe…"

"Well that can be arranged, come to our family ball tomorrow night…" She insisted.

"I can't Becca, I don't have a dress and I don't have time to go shopping, I need to find a new job!"

"Fine, be like that." She responded with a huff; but I didn't like the look that suddenly appeared on her face.

"Bex, what are you planning!?" I exclaimed, knowing that when she put her mind to something, she did it to the full.

"Nothing, nothing; now go have a shower and then get job hunting!" She responded with a cheeky smile before shoving me in the direction of the bathroom.

**Klaus's POV**

I was annoyed that Caroline hadn't taken me up on the offer; she was just too damn stubborn for her own good. It was so irritating; I just wanted to put everything that happened in the past behind us. I reached into my pocket as I felt my phone begin to buzz.

"Becca, what can I do for you love?" I answered.

"This is more of a case of what I can do for you Nik!" She exclaimed excitedly on the other end.

"Okay, what can you do for me?" I asked interested, because she was acting extremely nice to me considering she'd been seriously pissed with me less than half an hour ago.

"First, tell me how you really feel about Caroline. I know you two argue all the time, and swear that you hate one another, but seriously get over all that shit and tell me how you really feel for her?" She continued, a persistent tone in her voice – and I knew from previous experience that if I didn't tell her the honest answer the first time she would just keep on nagging.

"I think I fell for her a long time ago, and after everything that has happened I still feel that way." I replied honestly, and I shocked myself to hear it being said out loud; but it was the truth. I'd lashed out towards her because I couldn't control or understand my feelings, but now it all seemed so crystal clear.

"YES!" Becca exclaimed loudly, making me jump.

"What? Why an earth are you so excited?" I continued, thoroughly puzzled by her.

"Because Caroline basically said the same thing! You and her, it's totally meant to be, I knew it from the start!" I felt a smirk rising on my face as I listened to her speak; if Caroline felt the same way then maybe we could just work everything out, surely we were just fighting one another because neither of us realized that we both wanted the same thing.

"Okay, so what should I do about it?" I inquired, knowing that my sister was a fountain of knowledge on all things relationship related, and all things Caroline Forbes, considering how they were best friends.

"Great; well I hope you're listening carefully Nik; you might need a notepad and pen too so you don't forget what I'm about to tell you…" She said mysteriously, I grabbed a pen and did what she asked as I'm sure she knew best.

**Caroline's POV**

I'd taken a long hot shower at Rebecca's and felt thoroughly refreshed; I said goodbye to her and thanked her a million times over for being such a great friend. I made my way down to the parking lot and decided that it was best for me to go home and change because wearing these crumpled clothes whilst job hunting would not give a very good impression.

I parked and made my way to my apartment, but stopped abruptly outside my door when I saw the package sitting on the door mat; I frowned puzzled, as I knew I hadn't ordered anything lately, and I had no idea what it could be. I pulled my keys from my pocket and opened up the door, before picking up the box and carrying it into the house. I felt kind of excited; getting unexpected parcels was always a great feeling.

I threw my things down on the table and rapidly tore the brown paper off the box and pulled off the lid. I gasped in shock as I stared down at the contents.

In the box lay the most beautiful blue dress I had ever seen, I removed the card inside and pulled out the dress to admire it further. It was absolutely gorgeous and must have cost a fortune; I couldn't help but wonder who it was from – maybe Rebecca? It was totally the sort of thing she would do to cheer me up, I felt a smile beginning to form on my face at what a lovely friend she was. I hung up the dress and opened up the notecard it had been delivered with.

_Dear Caroline, _  
_I saw this dress and I knew that it would complement your eyes wonderfully. I've had it adjusted to your measurements so it shall fit like it was made for you. I know this will never make up for the things I have done, but I hope it helps maybe even a little…_  
_It would be my absolute honor to see you at my families' ball tomorrow night._  
_Fondly,_  
_Klaus _

Once again I found myself gasping at the gesture; I couldn't believe he had put all this thought and effort into the gift. The dress was exquisite, probably now the most expensive and wonderful dress that I owned. I ran my fingers over the soft material and smiled.

I guess I was going to the ball after all…

**Hi!**  
**So first I wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who reviewed on the previous chapter! They were the most reviews I've ever received for a chapter and it was so great to hear what you all thought.**  
**Secondly, I received some critical reviews and some ideas of what I could include in this story and they were really great! I love to hear what all of you think whether it be good or bad as I try my best to take on board what you say and incorporate/improve on later chapters. **

**So thanks to: Saba, red-as-a-rose12335, Chelsea, 1998baby,GhostinThePhoto, Oneindigorose, Klaroline-teenwolf, Lucy, Siredtodamonsalvatore, Jwakeel, EtherealDemon, Nymphadora Lupin 99, ApekshaStar and Magangail06. (Apologies for any misspelling or if I have missed anyone out!)**

**Please continue to read, review and follow, you guys are great! **


	8. The Ball

**Caroline's POV**

I twirled around and around as I stared at myself in the mirror; I had to admit, this dress was pretty perfect - which naturally I hated; why did Klaus have to go and do this, it was a nice thought but it made me feel in debt to him, it made me feel obligated to be nice to him; something which I was definitely not going to be bought into doing.

I guess now it was time Klaus and I had some unwritten rule of being civil around one another, and this dress, this very _very _beautiful dress was obviously a peace offering - which was a nice touch.

I decided it was time for me to stop overthinking and get going, I pulled on my heels, grabbed my bag and re-adjusted my hair before making my way down to the parking lot. - I felt a bubble of excitement begin to grow within me; I hadn't been to many balls, however I knew they were fantastic - I was Miss Mystic Falls after all...

**Klaus's POV**

I stared around the room at the many people dressed to impress, my eyes glancing over the many people in the crowd talking, laughing and dancing. However, none of them were the girl I was looking for. I continued to stare around before beginning to become frustrated, and a bit worried I must admit - maybe Caroline wasn't going to show up? Maybe Rebecca had been lying about that confession?

Just as I began to give up hope I saw a glance of blue, and I focused my eyes and I saw the familiar shining blonde hair and perfect creamy complexion.

Caroline was here.

A shot of jealously ran through me as all the male eyes in the room suddenly became transfixed on her; I pushed my way through the crowd towards her and held out my arm.

"Good evening Miss Forbes." I said chivalrously as possible.

"Oh god; I'm going to need a drink." She said honestly, before walking straight past me and my outstretched arm - I had to admit it was exceedingly embarrassing. My eyes followed her figure as she made her way over to a waiter and grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray before going and making conversation with Rebecca and Elijah. I watched from where I was at how easily they laughed and conversed with one another.

I was so envious of my siblings.

"Been rejected again brother? It's not your fault I got all the good looks." Kol said cheekily beside me, appearing practically from no-where.

"Now, now Kol; you definitely shouldn't be bragging, didn't Bonnie Bennett dump you after all?" I said cruelly, knowing that for the first time he really had been hurt by this break up.

"Yes she did; but have you seen her tonight looking practically good enough to eat? Believe me brother, I intend to win her back and I know she wants me back. - Sadly the same cannot be said about dear Caroline Forbes feelings towards you." He replied cuttingly but with the typical Kol smirk on his face, before turning and leaving. - Most likely to go and terrorize poor Bonnie Bennett. That girl really had no clue what she'd gotten herself into.

I spied Caroline across the room with an unfamiliar man; I felt a stab of jealously run through me as he led her onto the dance floor. Naturally, being the competitive person that I was I knew that I had to do the same. I looked for the closest woman in sight and paced meaningfully towards her.

"Care to dance love?" I inquired to a girl just slightly smaller than me in a short red dress with long brown hair; her face couldn't be described as pretty or ugly, she was kind of unimpressionable to be honest - that's why I knew she'd be perfect.

"I'd love to." She replied in a sultry voice, one that made my stomach churn and my toes curl, paired with the shockingly obvious look she gave me.

It seemed I'd chosen the sluttiest woman in the crowd.

"My names Haley." She muttered into my ear as we twirled around the dance floor; I barely even caught what she was saying, my gaze too busy fixed on Caroline's figure - I saw her laugh; she was having a good time with this man.

"Great sweetheart, I'm Klaus." I responded begrudgingly.

"So what do you do Klaus?" She inquired, attempting to make conversation as we danced.

"Can we please just cut the chat and dance love?" I asked with a strained tone; this had been a bad idea after all - this woman was annoying as hell. Across the room I saw Caroline turn and her eyes made contact with mine before they promptly narrowed as she glared at the brunette on my arm. I rapidly pulled her closer to me, making us appear to be more intimate than we were - Caroline's brow furrowed, but she followed suit; pulling her partner's body closer to hers. I saw his hand drop lower from her shoulders, down her back and lower; I felt a growl of anger threaten to break from my throat. Luckily, the song came to an end and they separated - I rapidly moved away from Haley and strode towards Caroline as the next song began to start.

"Let's dance love." I said quickly, not giving her a chance to answer and tugging her away from her current partner who looked pretty pissed by my actions.

"Maybe I don't want to dance with you Niklaus." She responded, but she was already in my arms and we were already dancing. I felt a smile on my lips as she used my full name; it seems she'd picked up one of my sisters tricks: Using it when she was annoyed.

"Well sadly it's too late for that love, we're already dancing..." I said leaning down and whispering into her ear; I could have sworn I felt her shiver, but I decided I must have imagined it.

"Oh and by the way sweetheart; you look absolutely ravishing in that dress." I continued, and saw her cheeks blush slightly.

"Thank you Klaus, it was a very nice gesture." She replied simply, a smile beginning to form on her lips that I could see she was trying to prevent.

"So who was the slutty brunette you were dancing with; you looked pretty cozy?" She inquired bitchily, and I swore I could detect an undertone of jealously in her voice.

"She was called Haley love, and I'm sure she's perfectly nice under her slutty exterior." I responded simply, hoping that it would rile her up some more. However it didn't have the desired effect, she just pursed her lips and looked away in annoyance.

"Who was the man you danced with?" I continued; figuring if she could ask me then it was perfectly reasonable for me to ask in response.

"He's called Vaughn, he's a really great guy and we've been friends for a while." She said with a smile, turning her head back to face me.

"He's not worthy of you love, I know it..."

"Oh and you are?" She added her words stung a bit I had to admit, but she was probably right; Vaughn probably wasn't an ex-drug addict who thought he should get revenge on the woman who saved his life.

"I didn't say that sweetheart." I said tight lipped, refusing any jealously to seep into my tone.

We continued dancing around the floor, I lost track of time, but eventually the song switched over and Caroline made a move to leave, I tightened my arms around her so she couldn't.

A slow romantic number came on and I pulled her tighter to me, so our bodies just touched; I felt a smirk rising on my face.

"Seriously Klaus?"

"What's the matter love, am I making you nervous?" I said before tilting my head closer to hers so our lips were only a few centimeters apart.

"N-n-no" She stuttered out unconvincingly; which made me smile even more. I went to close the gap between us, but Caroline pulled away sharply.

"No Klaus; we aren't going there." She said quickly, blushing once more and averting her gaze. I felt angry by her rejection but I knew she needed time; I removed one hand from her back before reaching gently for her face and slowly turning it back to face me.

"There's nothing to be afraid of love, I promise; I've changed." I said sincerely, staring intently at her trying to convey the message in any way possible.

"I want to believe that Klaus, I really _really_ do; but it was only a matter of days ago that you were making my life hell. It was only a few days ago that I quite literally wanted to kill you myself yet here we are dancing together! I may want it Klaus, and you may want it too but it's too soon and it can't work. I have to be honest; it's time to lay all the cards out on the table. - I can't trust you; I can't give you any part of my heart because I'm worried about what the consequences will be. I know you think that you've changed and I can tell that you really believe that but there is always the possibility of you turning back to your old ways. We can't just rush into something like this Klaus." She replied equally as sincerely, her words stung by I understood what she meant. I hadn't given her any proof to the fact that I had changed, she had nothing other than my word and I knew that wasn't enough.

"What if I prove to you I can change, that I _have _changed and that I'm trust worthy?!" I exclaimed as an idea came into my mind.

"Well, I'd say that's great." Caroline responded with a puzzled look on her face.

"Let's create a company together."

"What?!" She replied stunned.

"You and I, start our own design company together."

"No, Klaus; that would never _ever_ work." Caroline said, shaking her head; however I did see the slight glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Yes, yes it would love. I used to have my own refurbishment company; I'm also an artist and designer. You were head of the design department, you have contacts _and_ you have those million-dollar clients who insist they want no one other than you - this would mean we wouldn't even have to worry about getting clients as we already have some that would want to work with us!" I continued, getting more and more convinced by this as I spoke.

"Well... maybe... but what about the job you already have?" She added, but I could tell I had nearly convinced her, it wasn't going to take much more persuasion.

"I'll quit the job; I never even wanted to work there, you and I both know I only went for the job to harass you." I said embarrassed as I admitted what we both knew was true.

"Okay." She replied simply, but I saw the smile that broke rapidly onto her face.

"Mikaelson and Forbes LTD. I can picture it in my mind already!" I said with a smirk, excited at the prospect of going into business with Caroline as equals and seeing her every day.

"No Klaus; Forbes and Mikaelson LTD, my name is totally going first!" She insisted, I was going to argue but she was right; it did have a better ring to it.

"Well Klaus, you and I can't dance together all night. How about you give me a ring tomorrow and we can discuss how we are going to progress. You can get my number from Rebecca." She added. Little did she know I could dance with her all night and never grow tired; also the fact that I'd already taken her number out of Rebecca's phone a long time ago...

"That sounds great love." I replied, before regretfully removing my arms from around her waist. Before she turned away however, I pressed a quick kiss to the side of her cheek and I smiled as she didn't even chastise me for it.

Caroline and I were going into business together; here was my opportunity to show I was a changed man and trustworthy, let's just hope I don't mess this up...

**Hi!**  
**Thank you for all of the reviews on the previous chapter!**  
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